The Bracelet
by Seraph of Tales
Summary: A bracelet that can make you irresistable to any and all men may seem like a dream come true to a girl. But Uzumaki Naruto is certainly not a girl. The dream turns into a nightmare as every single male falls in love with our poor Naruto. Sasunaru. Yaoi
1. The Mission

**A/N: Something that's been bugging me and bugging me ever since I bought my new bracelet. Quite possibly the most weirdest thing I have ever written.**

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"Wah!! I'm gonna be late!" 

Yes, it was another a gorgeous day here in Konoha.

"Stupid alarm clock! Why didn't you wake me up?!"

The sun was shining, the birds were singing...

"Sakura-chan is going to kill me!"

...And our favorite knucklehead ninja is once again, late.

"God, idiot. Must you be so loud?"

"Aah! Teme! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Kakashi told me to pick you up. He's already at the bridge"

"EH?!"

"Just hurry and get dressed."

"Bastard!"

Sitting on the windowsill, Sasuke watched amusedly as the dobe of his group, his so called "rival", rushed around the tiny apartment in search of clothes, weapons, etc. Its been nearly a year since the whole Naruto chasing Sasuke chasing Itachi chasing Naruto ordeal as well as the fall of the kickass organization, Akatsuki. All was peaceful, well as peaceful as a hidden village filled with ninjas, could be.

"Are you done yet?"

"No asshole, can't you wait?"

Sasuke and Naruto's relationship was more or less the same. At least Sasuke hoped it was. Naruto had forgiven him, but he hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms either. It would seem that Naruto still has a few feathers ruffled concerning him.

"There, finished!"

"About time."

"I'm sorry I can't be as perfect as you oh great Sasuke_-sama._"

Leaving Naruto's humble abode, the two took off towards their meeting spot. They were running at quite a fast pace, that is until Naruto began to lag behind.

"What's the matter, dobe? Tired already?"

"No, it's just that Sakura's birthday is coming up and I was, y'know, trying to figure out what to give her."

"You still have a crush on her or something? Last I heard she was dating Lee."

As hard as it is to believe, Sakura is indeed dating the thick-eyebrowed, green-spandex wearing Lee. After Lee's 101th date proposal, Sakura finally took pity and agreed. Her plan was to let the guy down easy after the date was done, the truth was that she really wasn't interested in him. But she never got to say that because she had so much fun with Lee that night (and not that kind of _fun_) and planned another one with him the next Saturday. Before you knew it, the two were happily and contentedly an official couple. Not that anybody was complaining.

"I don't have a crush on her, jackass! She is a dear friend of mines and nothing more."

"Whatever, usuratonkachi. Just pick up your pace. Now's not the time to go window shopping anyways."

Finally arriving at the bridge, the two were greeted by Sakura and no one else.

"Sakura-chan? Where's Kakashi?"

"What do you mean? You should realize by now that he's always late."

"Sasuke-teme you lied to me! You said Kakashi told you to come get me!"

"Am I missing something?"

Before Sasuke could reply, a 'poof' was heard and Kakashi appeared behind Naruto, what seems to be a carefree grin plastered on his face.

"Good morning everyone."

"K-Kakashi! Don't do that! You scared me!"

"Naruto, your a chuunin now. If you still get surprised that easily then it will pose a problem for you later on."

Naruto merely chuckled and scratched his head in apology.

"Anyways, I hope you guys are ready. This mission is A-rank. We have to retrieve something that was stolen from our daimyo. Thing is this item in enemy territory. Watch your step and be on guard."

"Understood." the team chorused.

"Great, then we're off."

"I hope you brought all your weapons this time, Naruto. Remember what happened last time?"

"No worries Sakura-chan, its all here!"

Heading for the gates, the team passed through the market just as several stores were opening.

"Ne ne, isn't your birthday coming up soon Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"What kind of gift would you like?"

"I dunno, maybe a nice set of gloves or a pretty bracelet or something. Anything's fine Naruto."

"Oh, ok then."

Reaching the gates, Kakashi stopped his team one final time.

"Alright, we are heading for the village of Lightning. Don't forget, stay alert and be prepared for anything. So, off we go!"

Without much of a second thought, the team raced into the thick foliage of the forest and unto the dangers ahead.


	2. The Chase

**A/N: Pure drabble. Completely pure drabble. Feel free to leave. Anytime. Maybe now. Right now.**

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They were chasing him. Well of course they were chasing him! He had the goddamn cat! Honestly, why would anyone _want _to steal anything as useless and annoying as the daimyo's wife's goddamn cat was beyond him. Quite frankly all he wanted to do right now was finish the mission and get the hell away from these stupid Kumo jounin. 

_'I swear if I live through this, I'm killing Kakashi!' _

The cat wasn't helping at all either. As a matter of fact, the goddamn cat was climbing up his sleeve and--_'Ow ow!! What are you doing you crazy feline! Stop scratching me! Stop! No! No! Get offa my head! Get off now!'_

It would seem that the cat either hated Naruto with a passion or she liked her new Kumo master and didn't want to be save. He was betting it was the latter I mean knowing the cat, he was sure she would go to any lengths just to escape torture by the daimyo's wife again. Though he must admit, the cat had gotten smart, this is the first time she had gotten out of the village walls or even the Fire country border.

_'You crazy feline I know you hate the daimyo's wife but that doesn't mean you get to claw my eyes out!!'_

Desperately trying to pry the scratching, biting cat off of his head, Naruto dropped his guard for just one moment, one! But that one moment was the only moment the Kumo jounin needed to attack. Launching a kunai towards our unawares kitsune-boy, Naruto was nearly, _nearly_ wounded if it wasn't for his knight in shining armor.

"Sasuke-teme! Wh-what the hell are you doing here?!"

"What does it look like you idiot? Saving you of course."

"Why?! I could've handled it myself."

"Look, I only did it for the sake of the mission alright. I'm planning to qualify for the jounin exams and a failed mission isn't going to look good on my files. Stop thinking it's about you all the time!"

"You bastard!"

"Go already! I'll hold him off!"

"No, you go and I'll hold him off!"

"You idiot, do you want to finish this mission or not? Go! And besides that cat seems to like you."

Growling, Naruto was about to retort until a shuriken came dangerously close to his head. Gritting his teeth, he took one final look at Sasuke and ran.

_'Damn you Sasuke! Don't you dare get hurt or I'll kill you myself!'_

Naruto's troubles weren't over yet. The cat who seemed to have permanently perched herself atop his blonde shock hair was _still _trying to claw his freakin' eyes out! God, did this cat have a grudge on him or something? Maybe she was mad at him for always capturing her and dooming her to suffocation by hugs courtesy of her master. Yeah, maybe...In any case, the Fire country border was in sight. Just a few more seconds and--

A kunai sped by his very eyes before painfully attaching itself upon his wrist.

"Augh! You asshole!"

Two Kumo chuunin stood in front of him, their eyes foretelling of impending doom.

_'And just to think. All this trouble for a cat. A stupid, lousy, dumbass of a cat.'_

"Hand it over."

"No way! Not without a fight!"

"Cocky little brat aren't you? You asked for it!"

A volley of weapons was immediately shot at Naruto, barely giving him time to think. Quickly dodging all the sharp pointy things out to kill him, he ducked behind a tree. Thankfully, the cat was shell-shocked enough from the previous attack for him to tuck the poor thing inside his chuunin jacket. Creating as much distance between himself and his pursuers, he formed a handseal summoning ten clones. Five of which transformed into identical replicas of the cat before jumping into the arms of the other five clones. With a nod of his head, he sent the clones into several different directions, hoping this should keep the chuunin of his trail.

_'There! The border! I should be able to pass off this crazy feline to Sakura!'_

That was the plan. As soon as the team found their target, they split into a group of twos. Kakashi and Sakura went ahead of Naruto and Sasuke to the border where they would wait patiently for them. they figured that going by twos would make things easier to infiltrate amnd escape. This proved to be true. Also, if there was anyone chasing Sasuke or Naruto, then when they pass it off to Sakura or Kakashi, the one left behind can hold off their pursuers. It was almost foolproof really. Almost.

"Oi! Shorty! Where do you think you're going?"

Short? SHORT?!! Uzumaki Naruto might be an idiot at times, maybe even a hot-head, and yes, he knew he could be dense. But short? Oh that's where he drew the line!!

"I'll have you know that I am not short! As a matter of fact I am--!"

A senbon needle pierced him the neck, causing him to stumble backwards, losing hold of the cat. Another senbon whizzed through the air before attaching itself into the pretty, encrusted collar of the cat's.

Now, the Fire country border is notorious for one thing and one thing only. It's mainly compromised of a deep trench rumored to reach the core of the very planet. That same trench is where the poor cat was falling into. The force of the senbon slipped the collar off the cat's neck while simultaneuosly pushing her above the deep trench.

"Naruto! The cat!"

Sakura's scream brought Naruto's attention to the quickly falling cat and her collar. In his haste, he completely ignored the cry of common sense and dove in after the cat.

"NARUTO!!"

Reaching for the furry body below him, Naruto's hand went through the collar causing him to wear it like some sort of bracelet as he grabbed the cat. Then before he could fall to him doom, he used his free hand to catch hold of a rock jutting out from the trench's wall.

"NARUTO!! Are you alright??"

"Never been better!"

"Oh, thank god! I'll pull you up, just hang on!"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

A cork attached to a wire quickly wrapped around Naruto's waist as Saukra's super-strength brought him up.

"Your really not hurt or anything are you?"

"Relax, Sakura-chan. I'm good. What happened to that shinobi that attacked me?"

"Sasuke took care of him."

"You really are an idiot usuratonkachi! You could've been killed!"

"Che, I thought you said you didn't want to fail this mission?"

"BAKA! I don't care about finishing the mission if it means getting you killed!"

Taken aback by Sasuke's words, Naruto stood shocked and oh my god! Was the infamous ice prince actually blushing?

"Wow, didn't know you cared."

"A-and besides, what good would it be if both you and cat died from the fall anyways."

"Heh. Jerk. By the way, Sakura-chan, where's Kakashi?"

"He's holding off a couple more Kumo shinobi, we best be on our way."

"Sakura, you and Naruto go on ahead. I'll help Kakashi. Don't worry we'll catch up."

Taking off, the two hurried towards their village. The cat once again, tucked safely into Naruto's jacket.

"Naruto, I hoped you caught the collar too!"

"Yeah, why is that collar so important?"

"Gosh, you really have an attention problem don't you? That collar was the real reason as to why those jounin are after you!"

"EH?!"

"Yeah, the cat we needed to bring back too but the collar was for the most part, the primary reason."

"Okay...Why?"

"Well the collar isn't really a collar, it's a bracelet. Legend has it that the bracelet contains some sort of mysterious power. Of course when the daimyo's wife saw it, she only thought of it as really pretty trinket for her cat. Anways, so where is it?"

"Oh, see when I was reaching for cat, the bracelet was in the way so I just put my hand through it. I'm wearing it right now actually"

"Keep it on then. There's still a chance the shinobi will go after the cat, if need be, we can use the cat as a decoy and run."

"Why do we keep running? Why can't we just fight it out?"

"Well, only if we can take our opponent on. Otherwise it's just too risky. Kumo and Konoha aren't on especially good terms or on good terms at all. I'm not saying that killing some of their shinobi will put a strain on our relationship with them but better safe than sorry y'know?"

"I guess."

"Perfect, now let's hurry."

Picking up their pace, the two finally reached the outer walls of their village. As they approached it, they heard two sets of footsteps behind them. Looking back, they saw Sasuke and Kakashi running towards them.

_'Is it just me or is Kakashi looking really hard at me? Really really hard...' _

"Sasuke-kun, Kakashi! Glad to see you both safe!"

"Hn. Those Kumo shinobi were weak. Waste of my time."

_'Now I know he's staring really hard at me!' _"Ehehe, K-Kakashi is there something on my face cause your kinda staring at me."

"No, just thinking you look incredibly handsome today Naru-chan."

_'Okay, what is wrong with him?!'_

"Kakashi, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, now that I'm with Naru-chan!"

_'Oh my--Is he hitting on me!'_

**A/N: Well that's it then. Ugh. I was gagging when I tried to make Kakashi all flirty and stuff. Yeah, yeah. I know it's crappy but I told you before! You could've left anytime in the story! It's too late now! For punishment you must write me a review! Flaming and/or criticizing dun care as long as you gimme some signs of life that you are reading this! And I know that you are. Believe me, I know that you are!**


	3. The Curse

**Wow! ****Soo**** many hits and reviews!! I'm touched and a bit disturbed. You guys actually like this story? Can't say I saw that coming...Oh well, reviews are reviews and hits are hits so thank you all!! I'm ****soo**** happy!! Thank you!! **

**A/N: Looks like it's a great day for another horrible, ****chapter! What do you think Bob?**

**Bob: Well, personally I think you readers are in for a treat! These are some funny stuff I tell ****ya****, funny stuff! Get ready for outrageous pick-up lines and loads of laughter! And I must comment on this one scene where--!**

**Okay, that's enough Bob. Don't listen to Bob. Bob's a liar.**

**Bob: Hey wait a minute, now I don't think that's really fair and--!**

**Shut up Bob! ****Once again, the exit's right here, ****y'know****, for when you have to leave. ****For any reason. ****Any at all.**** On with the story!!**

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"K-Ka-Kakashi! A-Are you f-fl-flirting with me?"

"Depends. If I say yes, can we go get some dinner together?"

"L-Like on a DATE?!"

"Well yeah, that was kinda the whole point."

_'What is wrong with him? Just a couple hours ago he was lecturing me about being a proper __chuunin__ and now he's--he's touching my ass?!'_

"Did you just touch my ass?!"

"Maybe."

"Eew! I mean no offense Kakashi but I don't like you that way!"

"I can fix that!"

Kakashi face was leering dangerously close to Naruto's, just a little bit closer and they'd be kissing!

"Kakashi. Stop with the games! We still have to deliver the cat and the bracelet to Tsunade-shisou!"

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the masked face was pulled from his line of vision.

_'And besides, I'm as straight as a ruler! Plus I was hoping to ask __Hinata__ out sometime soon.'_

"Whose playing games Sakura? I really want to get Naru-chan on a date! By the way, Naru-chan are you free on Saturday cause I was hoping to--!"

"Wait! Hold on a second! You're really flirting with--with Naruto?!"

"Of course, isn't it obvious?"

"That's just creepy! And aren't you like fourteen years his senior?"

"Age doesn't matter when it comes to love!" (A/N: Gag! X-X)

Alright, that was the last straw! Pressing a pressure point on Kakashi's neck, Sakura rendered him unconcious.

"That was odd."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun? Did you happen to see if Kakashi hit his head or something while you were in the fight?"

"No. I couldn't see with all the Kumo nin surrounding me."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"How bout on your way back? Was he like bit by some kind of love bug?"

"That's ridiculous, usuratonkachi."

"Grr. Well, you can't really blame the guy for falling in love with me! After all, I'm strong, handsome, and smart!"

"You forgot idiotic, klutzy, and a dead last."

"TEME!!"

"Alright, cool it you two! Now c'mon, we still have to report back to Tsunade-shisou!"

Turning away from each other, the rivals muttered a quick fine before they both slung one of Kakashi's arms on their shoulders. Half- carrying, half-dragging their former sensei, they followed Sakura as they entered the village gates.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Oh hi Kotetsu. What's up?"

Turning towards the village's entrance guard, Naruto could have sworn he saw a strange glint in Kotetsu's eye. Wait was that--?

"Nothing much, just glad to see your back from your mission."

"Uh...Thanks?"

"So you doing anything this afternoon cause I--!"

"Don't you have to check for identification so you can grant us entry into the village? Do your job."

Sasuke stepped in front of Naruto, blocking him from Kotetsu's sight.

"Oh, Sasuke. Glad that your back too. May I see some identification?"

Kotetsu was smiling pleasantly though if one looked close enough you could see his forehead twitching, horribly. Sasuke was looking close enough, not that he was gawking at the guy's face or anything he was just observant like that, and saw that horrible twitch. A smirk began to form on his lips.

"Hn. Let's see. Now I could've sworn I saw my I.D. here somewhere. Where is it?"

"That's unlike you, Sasuke-kun, to be disorganized."

"First time for everything, huh teme?"

"Just give me the damn I.D.!"

"Why? You're not in a hurry for something, are you?"

A small poof was heard behind the group as Naruto felt a hand slide down his butt.

_'Not again!'_

"Argh! Who just groped my butt?!"

"Ehehe, my bad. Since Uchiha-san was taking too long over there, I decided to grab your I.D. Naruto."

"Ah! Izumo! You could've just asked! And my I.D.'s not there anyways. I know exactly where it is unlike somebody I know!"

Handing the other entrance guard his identification, Naruto made a face at Sasuke who in turn glared back. At Naruto or Izumo, one couldn't tell. Taking a quick glance at Naruto's I.D., Izumo quickly handed it back to him, smiling rather for lack of a better word, creepily.

"It's okay Kotetsu. He's clear. Say Naruto how bout I walk you to the Hokage mansion? How's that sound?"

"Hey wait Izumo! Hang on! It's your turn for the watch! Izumo!" Kotetsu cried.

Ushering the blonde in, Izumo grinned cockily at everyone else.

"Well, that was...Odd. Don't you think so, Sasuke-kun?"

Growling, Sasuke took out his I.D. from the front pocket of his chuunin vest.

"Here, good enough for you?"

"Huh? What? Uh, yeah sure..."

Without another word, Sasuke turned and ran after Naruto. Leaving Sakura and Kotetsu behind with the unconscious Kakashi lying forgotten on the ground.

"Hey listen, Izumo? That's very sweet of you but I can handle it from here."

"Oh, okay. Well how bout we hang out again sometime? Like maybe tommorow?"

"Ehehehe...Oh look at the time, I have to go! Uh, ahem, your hand?"

Taking his hand off of Naruto's ass, Izumo watched as Naruto teleported away.

_'This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder! And is it just me or is every guy coming on to me?' _

Arriving at the Hokage mansion, Naruto walked past the jounin guards. All of them eyeing him like some peice of meat.

_'Pl-Please don't eat me!'_

Taking refuge inside Tsunade's office, Naruto took deep shuddering breaths.

"Naruto, good to see your back safe."

"What do you expect Tsunade-obaa-san? I'm gonna be the next Hokage! A little A-rank mission doesn't scare me!"

"Stop calling me that you little brat!"

"Hey you can't call me little anymore! I'm taller than you now!"

This was true. Naruto experienced another growth spurt and now he was taller than Tsunade. Though unfortunately still a head shorter than Sasuke.

"Hn. So you are. By the way where are your teammates?"

"Oh, I sorta went ahead of them."

"Why?"

"Cause, Sasuke had to find his I.D. card and took a long time doing it and yeah it's just a long story!"

"As long as you finish the mission. You did finish it right?"

"Uhuh. Here's the cat!"

Taking the fainted cat from his chuunin vest, Naruto handed her over to Tsunade.

"Y'know I can't give you credit if the cat's dead right?"

"Oh she isn't dead, just fainted on our way back here."

"If you say so."

"Oh and here's the bracelet."

Naruto tired to slip off the bracelet, keyword tried, but for some odd reason it wouldn't come off!

"Eh? What's up with this crazy bracelet?"

"Naruto, why are you wearing that bracelet?"

"Oh, it was an accident! I didn't mean to wear it! I'll give it back as soon as I can take it off, promise!"

"That's the problem, you can't take it off!"

"Really, why?"

"It's cursed Naruto. That bracelet is cursed! It has a long history of killing anyone who is in possesion of it."

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**A/N: If it's rushed I'm sorry but ****ehehe****...I tried! Plus you can't say I didn't warn you!**


	4. The Legend

**A/N: Last chapter, sucked a bit. I rushed it. I'm not good at all this flirting business. So why am I writing this story? Cause the evil plot bunny hit me when I was walking to my locker. And you know what? It wouldn't stop bugging me!!! It kept annoying me until I finally wrote the goddamn story! Geez! Ahem. If anyone has any funny pick-up lines, share 'em with me! If you have a specific character that you want to say the pick-up line, please tell me as well. The only people I don't want you writing a pick-up line for is: Iruka, Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee. **

**WARNING: Major cliche ahead!!**

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"C'mon baa-chan! A cursed bracelet? That's rich! Your just trying to get back at me for dying your hair purple!" 

Throwing a very, heavy dictionary, Tsunade hit Naruto square on the head.

"Oww! What the hell was that for?"

"I am being serious gaki! That bracelet is truly cursed! Why do you think Kumo was after it?"

"Becuase it's pretty and sparkles in the light?"

A murderous glare was sent Naruto's way as it took every ounce of Tsunade's will power not to maim the little blonde idiot.

"You are really pushing it, gaki."

Raising his hands in defence, Naruto chuckled nervously, making a mental note to break for it if ever Tsunade did lose her temper. He still had scars from the last time Tsunade got mad at him.

"I was kidding! Can't you take a joke?"

"If it's coming from you? No."

"Still, why would Kumo want a cursed bracelet anyways?"

Sighing, Tsunade motioned for Naruto to sit. Cocking his head, he complied. Wondering why all of a sudden, Tsunade looked years, years older.

"There is a legend surrounding that bracelet. It's not a particularly sinister legend and it really doesn't explain why the braccelet is cursed."

"Then why bother telling me?"

"Do you want to know why Kumo needed a lethal bracelet?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then shut your trap! Anyways, the legend goes like this. Long ago, far before Konoha was born, there was a great and powerful kunoichi. She possesed skills rumored to surpass that of the greatest Kages of our time, and a mysterious bloodline limit. Now this kunoichi had fallen deeply in love with a simple merchant.Unfortunately, the merchant was already very taken with someone else. This didn't deter her though and with her bloodline limit, created a bracelet that made her irresistable with any and all men. But, for some weird reason, the bracelet wouldn't work on the merchant. Belwidered, she confronted him and told him about her feelings. It was futile, though. The merchant was simply much too in love with the other. Heartbroken, it was said that she killed herself but not before sealing her power, that which included her bloodline limit, into the bracelet. Why? Nobody knows."

"So you're saying that the bracelet posseses the bloodline limit of a very powerful kunoichi? And that's why Kumo is after it? Sounds reasonable but why is the bracelet lethal?"

"I was just getting to that. Now, the bracelet has a history of granting people the kunoichi's power. Of course, the bracelet has side effects. Since it's primary function is to make a person irresistable to any and all males, then the houlder shall be hounded by men."

"That explains a lot! Kakashi flirted with me right after the mission. And I think Izumo was feeling me up on the way here!!"

"Yes, well. I suggest running for your virginity, Naruto."

"Really?"

"No, not _really._ As long as you can handle yourself, you're going to be fine."

"You did not see the way a group of jounins stared at me when I passed them by!"

"That's your problem."

Naruto snorted in contempt, crossing his arms and pouted. Tsunade couldn't help but smile, honestly, the kitsune jinchuuriki could be so adorable. That was why he secretly had a fan-base consisted of both girls _and _boys. That fan-base would double now that the bracelet was stuck on him.

"Naruto, there is a second side effect. One that offers no explanation as to why. Do you see those stones on your bracelet?"

"Yeah?"

"Every single time a stone fall off that bracelet, you have a single day less to live."

Naruto wanted to laugh at the strangeness of the situation. I mean, really, a bracelet that could kill you? It seemed so absurd! But it was happening to him. Right now. The gravity of his predicament hit him as he stared into the somber face of Tsunade.

"Y-You _can _do something about this right, baa-chan."

"Of course. I didn't get to be the greatest medic nin for nothing. I'll get the curse lifted in no time."

Naruto smiled brightly. He knew he could count on Tsunade-baa-chan! After all, wasn't she the one who managed to heal Lee when his leg was crushed? He'll be fine. Still, something was still bugging him.

"Why would Kumo want the bracelet? I mean like you said, it kills the user."

"Well, I don't think they intended to use it more like extract the sealed power within the bracelet. That way they won't have to use the bracelet with it's lethal side effects."

"Oh, now I get it."

"Good, now I want you to come over to the hospital tommorow. I'll take a look at that bracelet."

"Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan."

Standing up, Naruto waved as he headed for the door.

"Tell Sakura I want her to pass by the hospital tommorow. I might need her help."

"Will do!"

Exiting the Hokage's office, Naruto accidently bumped into Sasuke.

"Sasuke!"

"Hn. Usurantonkachi. You reported to Tsunade?"

"Yup! Where's Sakura?"

"Right here, Naruto."

Turning towards the voice, Naruto spotted Sakura as she rounded the corner.

"So what took you guys so long in coming here?"

Sakura looked over at Sasuke. Giggling as she watched a faint pink spread over his face.

"We had to drop off Kakashi at his apartment. That and Sasuke-kun had to _talk _to Izumo about something. Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?"

"H-He was supposed to be guarding the village gate. Not galavanting off with Naruto."

Staring oddly at the pair, Naruto shrugged it off. Whatever, Sasuke did was none of his business, though he could've sworn he heard Sasuke mumble curses towards Izumo under his breath.

"Are you mad at Izumo for something Sasuke-teme?"

"No, he's just miffed that Izumo is trying to take what's his."

Sasuke glared heatedly at Sakura, his stare promising pain and torture. The pink-haired shinobi just laughed it off. It was getting to be more obvious that Sasuke has a crush on Naruto. Hell, she noticed it and she was like the biggest fangirl Sasuke ever had. Next to Ino of course. If she finally couldn't deny that Sasuke had a crush on Naruto then it must really be obvious. Now if only Naruto could see how much Sasuke cared. Then they could be boyfriends and have a summer wedding. She could help Naruto pick out the his weding dress!

Seeing something sparkling in the corner of her eye, Sakura was torn from her wedding fantasies when she realized Naruto still had the bracelet on.

"Hey, wait a minute Naruto, you're still wearing the bracelet. Weren't you suppossed to give that back to Tsunade-shisou?"

Raising the bracelet to eye level, Naruto scratched the back of his head

"Yeah, well thing is the bracelet's sort of stuck on me."

"WHAT?!"

Cringing at his teammates unified shouts, Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"I'll explain later. Over some Ichiraku Ramen perhaps?"

The two shook their heads, really, that Naruto will never change.

"Alright, Naruto, but you're paying!"

"Aww! So mean Sakura-chan!!"

Heading outside into the cool autumn air, the trio headed towards the famous ramen stand. They were laughing and talking, the strange events of the day never entering their heads. Unbeknowst to them, as the sky changed into a pink hue, the setting sun's final rays fell upon a beautiful stone. A silent spectator as it fell off the bracelet.

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**A/N: Believe it or not, this really happened. I mean the whole stone falling off the bracelet thing, not the whole curse thing. Anyways, I bought this really pretty bracelet and every single time I wore it, a stone would fall off. Weird huh? That's about it. So anyways, I really hoped you like this new chapter. I know the legend is soo cliche but I warned you! The legend itself really doesn't make sense, and if it seems as if there's a lot of information missing, well it's supposed to be like that!!**


	5. The Stranger

**A/N: So...yeah. This is to commemorate Naruto-kun's birthday on 10/10/07. Though it has beens some days ago, I still thought it would be good for me to update something in honor of Naru-chan's special day. I would have done this earlier, mind you. My plate was just too full at the time. After being buried alive by homework, and after finishing my newest story _Shall we Dance? _I am tired. But! Now that I was given a break from my workload and after finishing my math test (coughfailingitcough), I decided to why the hell not and updated.**

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The Ichiraku ramen stand was definately the place to be, at least that was what Naruto believed. It was the perfect place to lounge around for an indefinite amount of time (as long as you buy something). You can invite as many friends as you want to come over here and talk (as long as your friends buy something). Lastly, it served the best ramen in all of Konoha and you are free to stuff yourself with it (as long as you can pay). 

Ah, yes. Ramen. _The _most delicious food that had ever come into existance. Life would be colorless without it! At least, that was Naruto's opinion. And yet here he was, at his favorite dining spot with an X-large bowl of steaming hot ramen just for him, but all _he_, the infamous ramen-lover and Ichiraku's prime customer Uzumaki Naruto, could do was stare at his cursed bracelet!

Tsunade's words really had an effect on him. That whole dying thing really didn't suit well in his stomach. Thus the lost of appetite. It didn't go unnoticed either. Oh, no. No, his friends, as a matter of fact, was staring at him as if the apocalypse itself was upon them. And you would too if you saw _Naruto_ not eating_ ramen_. So of course, being the good friend she was, Sakura decided to politely ask what was wrong.

"What's the matter Naruto? Aren't you hungry?"

In her mind however, she knew that not even a full stomach, nor rain, nor hail could keep the boisterious blonde from his ramen.

"Oh, no...No I'm not." Naruto mumbled.

Everything in the stall stopped. Teuchi and his daughter paused in the middle of their cooking once the words reached their ears. No one dared to even breath. All of them were honestly expecting for Naruto to just jump up and shout, "GOTCHA!!" But he never did.

Swallowing loudly, Sakura pressed on for answers. "What's the matter, Naruto? You're always hungry for ramen! _Always!_"

"I don't want to eat." Naruto replied.

The jinchuuriki, in truth, really wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. His body had gone on total autopilot as he focused on counting how many stones were on the bracelet. Now that he saw it up close, Naruto saw that the bracelet was indeed very beautiful. It was compromised of precious, glittering stones. They were arranged in a rainbow like fashion, a red ruby first, a golden topaz second, a forest-green emerald third, and finally, an ocean blue sapphire. The stones weren't very big and there was quite a lot of them. He suppossed he should take comfort in that. He had quite some time to live.

_'Ichi...Ni...San...Yonjyu san...Yonjyu yo-!' _

Apparently he had less time on earth than he thought, for already, a stone had fallen off. One sparkling ruby stone. Naruto must've looked pretty aghast becuase Sakura once again inquired him about his well being.

Naruto waved off her concerns, smiling assuringly. "Nothing. I'll tell you later."

"When is this later, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Later is later Saku-!"

Naruto cut himself off when the startling feeling of a foreign hand began to rub his inner thigh. Getting too close to little Naru-chan for his comfort. Turning around, Naruto was about to tell the guy to fuck off when a pair of rough calloused lips met his.

"Hey!! What the hell are you doing to Naruto?!" Sakura shrieked.

Behind her, Sasuke could be seen with his Sharingan spinning wildly, a shattered cup held tightly in his fist.

_'How dare that man! How dare he touch what is mi--I mean how dare he kiss Naruto without the blonde's permission. Yes, that's right. How could I think Naruto was mine. It's not like I'm in love with the dobe or something...'_

Breaking apart, the stranger completely ignored the two's obvious disapproval of him as he whsipered seductively in Naruto's ear.

"Y'know, you are a very pretty fox. Why don't you come over to my house and let's get busy?"

What a pervert! What kind of guy did he take him for?! A slut? A man-whore?! Uzumaki Naruto is positively **NOT** a man-whore of any kind!! And with that, Naruto pulled back his fist and gave the man a mean left hook.

"Go fuck yourself, asshole!" he snarled.

At this point, Teuchi, who had been diligently working behind the counter, finally noticed the commotion and stepped in.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Yes, oji-san." Sasuke answered, pointing to the now crouching man on the floor. "That man was sexually harrasing usuratonkachi over there."

"Is this ture?"

Naruto and Sakura promptly nodded but the man wildly shook his head. " No I wasn't! I just came to get what I wanted."

"Sir, if what you want is not on the menu then I suggest you leave." Teuchi calmly ordered.

"That's not fair I-!"

The man was interupted when Sasuke grabbed a fistful of the man's collar and dragged him outside.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing?" Sakura asked watching with curiousity as Sasuke exited the stall.

"Taking out the trash. Don't wait up for me." Sasuke informed her, disappearing with the man from view.

Turning to Sakura, Naruto asked, "What do you think Sasuke's going to do wtih him??"

"Built him to a pulp maybe. I hope he does." Sakura answered before gazing worriedly at the kitsune. "Are you hurt? Did he do anything to you?"

"I'm fine. I'll recover. You should know me by now Sakura-chan!"

"That's good. He didn't touch you anywhere unappropriate did he?"

"He was about to until I punched him!"

"This sure has been a taxing day for you, huh Naruto? First it was Kakashi, then Kotetsu and Izumo, now this guy. Who's next? Gai?"

"God I hope not. But I might have an answer to why all these guys are flirting with me."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yeah, it's the same reason you have to come with me to the hospital tommorow."

"The hospital?"

"See. It's this thing about the bracelet. It's cursed and though it's supposed to give you super powers, it also has this weird side effect that causes every guy to fall in love with you."

"_Every _guy? That seems more like a dream come true!"

"To you. Not to me. Do you have any idea how weird it is to have other guys flirt with you?"

"Pretty bad I'm guessing?"

"Tch. Understatement of the year. That's not all though. The bracelet also has a long history of killing the holder once its final stone drops. Basically, Sakura-chan, I've got about forty-three days to live. Which in retrospect is a pretty long time ne?"

Fearing her outburst, Naruto immediately plugged his ears. He was absolutely sure that if the bracelet didn't get to him first, Sakura will.

_'Go...Yon...San...Ni...'_

Like a cannon shot, Sakura's voice echoed through the deserted street. "WHAT?!!!"

_'Right on time.'_

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**A/N: I apologize SilverMoonRyu that I was not able to put your lovely pick up lines but I assure you, they will be up next chpater. As for now, I've got class tommorow and I'm beat. **


	6. The Phantom

**A/N: I kept rewriting this chapter over and over and over and over and you get it right? It wasn't helping that I had a rough week. I hate writer's block! But anyways, enough bitching and let's get this ball rolling. The chapter might reallly suck though. I mean really, _really_, really, _really _suck. But I say that about every chapter. So ignore me and go on and read!!**

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Thick, angry storm clouds hung threateningly above Konoha, casting an ominous shadow over the hidden village. White lightning streaked across the inky-black sky, rolling thunder quickly following its wake. The pitter patter of rain was soon heard sending various villagers scurrying for shelter.

Huddled under the comfort of numerous blankets, Naruto lay trembling upon his bed. He had always hated storms, especially as a child. They always seem to instill such paralyzing terror into his heart. At first it was because when he was young, he believed that monsters lurked in the shadows storms often brought. Of course he thought the idea to be ludicrous, now being a handsome nineteen-year-old man, he knew for sure that fictional mosters such as the boogeyman never exsisted. However, with age comes experiences some good, some bad and quite frankly, Naruto has experiences that he'd rather not relive. Experiences that give him a damn good of a reason to fear such shadows.

Whimpering pathetically, Naruto dove deeper into the covers as a roaring thunder shook his tiny room. Mentally he promised that if anyone discovered this ridiculously childish fear of his, he'd burry himself six feet under. After all, it wasn't only the shadows he was afraid of, he was unfortunately afraid of thunder and lightning as well. Besides, valid reason or not, he figured if anyone found out, he'd be subjected to endless taunts and teasing.

An eerie silence fell upon the entire apartment, broken only by the rhythmic sound of the rain. It was comfortable, well as comfortable as it could be for Naruto. At the very least the lightning and thunder stopped. Breathing a sigh of relief, he dropped his guard and as a result, was nearly scared shitless as a sharp knock sounded from his bedroom door.

_'Who could it be? How'd they get in? Why are they in front of my bedroom?!_' Naruto thought, panicking.

"Naruto? You here?" a familiar voice asked.

Recognizing the voice, Naruto tentatively asked,"Sakura-chan?"

Slowly the door opened as Sakura's pretty face poke through. She smiled softly before letting herself in.

"I hope you don't mind but your front door was open and I wanted to get out of the rain so..." Sakura explained.

"No, no. It's okay. But jeez, Sakura-chan you scared me. I thought you were some ax murderer or something."

"Do my ears deceive me or did the great Uzumaki Naruto, self-proclaim future Hokage, admit to being scared?"

"Konck it off." Naruto growled, weakly throwing a pillow at her.

"Seriously though Naruto." Sakura replied, catching the pillow. "You're lucky it was me. For all you know it really could've been some crazy ax murderer. Learn to lock your door for pity's sake!"

"My bad. See, I was just sooo tired yesterday and I guess I kinda forgot."

"You're okay now, right?"

"I've been better."

"Is it because of the bracelet?"

Oh yeah. The bracelet. How easily Naruto had forgotten the object out to kill him. Glancing down, the bracelet merely twinkled innocently, looking ever the part of a pricey jewelry.

"Huh. I thought that it was some cheesy dream or something like that." Naruto stated.

"Naruto..." Sakura spoke exparatingly.

"No, I don't think it was the bracelet. I doubt it."

"You sure?"

"I'd be dying by now if it was."

"Don't say that so casually! We don't know how the curse works and you could've just jinxed yourself!"

"Relax, Sakura-chan. This isn't the first time I was almost killed by an inanimate object. Besides, there's no such thing as curses. It could've been a jutsu gone wrong or something. Tsunade-baa-chan can fix this."

"Well aren't you optimistic? But speaking of which, you have to get ready. Your appointment with Tsunade-shisou is only half an hour away!" Sakura reminded him, before staring concernedly at her former teammate. "Can you stand?"

"Sakura-chan!!" Naruto scowled. "Of course I can stand. I'm not that weak!"

To prove his point, Naruto steadily rose from the bed, placing his bare feet squarely on the icy, hardwod floor. Flinching as the biting cold touched his rather warm skin. Wrapping the blanket tightly around him, he quickly shuffled over to his closet. Picking up random articles of clothing along the way.

"Well, if you say so. I'll be waiting in the living room." Sakura announced, turning to leave.

Naruto simply grunted in response as he opened his closet door. An onslaught of shirts, pants, jackets, kunais, scrolls, and all his worldly possesions quickly flooded out and buried him. Apparently, the closet had been filled to bursting point and could prove fatal to anyone who opens it.

Catching a glimpse of Naruto hidden under a mountain of his own stuff, Sakura chuckled. Honestly, that boy would never change. Closing the door, she left the blond to his devices, opting to find some tea to warm her up.

As Sakura departed, Naruto promptly dug himself out and hurriedly donned his usual orange jumpsuit. Taking several extra minutes to find his tattered rain coat, he grabbed his weapon pouch and headed for the living room. There he saw Sakura sipping a cup of his finest tea,. Tea that he had very limited amounts of. Accusing her of stealing, Sakura, in response, bopped him on the head and ordered him to get his ass in gear. Before he knew it, he was outside in the freezing rain, shivering for all that he was worth.

The two, with time running short, chose to run across the rooftops. They encountered very little trouble for the streets were nearly devoid of all life. _Nearly_. Occasionaly, a male passerby would oggle shamelessly on Naruto, specifically, his cute bum. Thankfully, they arrived safely at the hospital with their chastity in tact. Well, Naruto's anyways. Who knows how far Sakura and Lee had gone.

Shizune was waiting for them by the hospital's entrance. Sheperding both of them into the nearest elevator.

"Are you feeling alright, Naruto? Any signs of illness at all?" Shizune questioned as they rose to the final floor.

"I feel...Exhausted. My body felt like a ton of bricks when I got back home yesterday." Naruto answered.

The elevator halted, and the three stepped into a long narrow hallway. There weren't very many rooms on this floor, Naruto observed as he followed Shizune, and the heavy scent of medicine hung thickly in the air. Wrinkling his nose, he figured this floor was only for special cases or those to meet Tsunade personally.

"I see. Anything else?" Shizune pressed on.

"No. As far as I know I'm in perfect healthy."

"That's good to hear." she commented, stopping in front of a large, paneled door. A sign beside it read, 472. "I hope you get better."

"You aren't coming in?"

"Sorry, but I have to attend to another patient. Sakura's here though."

Sakura smirked mischeviously, wrapping an arm around the kitsune shoulders. "Yeah, Naruto. I'll take _good _care of you."

"Wow, should I be worried?" Naruto inquired, taking a slight step away.

"Idiot!!"

Smiling fondly at the pair's antics, Shizune slowly turned the handle and ushered the two inside. Bidding farewell, she closed the door after them and left.

Tsunade's office was a large room resembling very much like her Hokage office. There were wide, clear windows at the farthest wall, bookshelves on the left and right, and finally, a grand, oak desk behind which Konoha's legendary medic sat. The only difference was that there was a narrow bed beside the desk and a plain door on the west side of the room. The door blended so well with the wall that at first glance, Naruto almost missed it.

"Finally, your here gaki. Thought you'd never show." Tsunade stated, leaning back on her chair.

"Yeah. The rain slowed us down a bit." Naruto replied.

"Sure, sure. Let's just this over with." Pointing to the plain door, she ordered, "Naruto, in that room is a pile of hospital gowns. I want you to change while I have word with Sakura. Strip everything off and I mean everything."

Nodding, Naruto obeyed. Something told him that if he complained, Tsunade would have his head. Entering the small dressing room (more like cupboard), he grabbed a hospital gown from the pile and proceeded to undress. After putting on the gown, he realized much to his horror that it was the one with the back wide open. He was about to grab another hospital gown and wear it backwards (smart huh?) in order for his butt to be covered when Sakura barged in.

"Oh, good. You're done." Without another word of warning, she dragged him out of the room.

Clenching together the ends of the gown, Naruto fervently hoped that Sakura would not notice his ass peaking through the opening. But unfortunately for him, the girl forced him to walk in front, giving her a clear view of his plump, little cheeks. Wolf whistling, the pink haired medic pinched his bum.

"Wow...No wonder all the boys are after you! Heck if I had seen this before I'd be after you too!"

"Ow! Sakura-chan! Quit it!" Naruto pouted, blushing furiously.

"Alright, alright that's enough from the both of you." Tsunade broke in, standing by the narrow bed and patting the sheets. A playful smirk playing on her lips. "Now Naruto, I want you to sit your cute butt on the bed."

"Oh not you too, Tsunade-oba-san!"

"Hey, I've seen your butt countless of times, and you gotta admit..."

"Okay, god I get it!" Naruto interupted, uncomfortable at where this conversation was going. Hopping on the bed, he glared spitefully at the two.

"Just relax, Naru-chan. We're not going to hurt you." Sakura crooned.

"And I should trust you why?"

"Because if you don't...Well we'll let you figure that on your own."

Swallowing nervously, Naruto looked up to Tsunade for assurance. The legendary blonde medic merely smiled back.

"Really it's going to be fine." Tsunade stated. "Just relax and lie down. The check up won't take long."

Sighing, Naruto complied. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt so tired. Maybe he was just stressing out too much. Or maybe, the bracelet was...Really killing him. Maybe he was already dying.

"Great, now I'll be placing a light sleeping jutsu on you. While you are under that fake sleep, I need you to contact that furry friend of yours. Maybe he knows what's going on."

Nodding, Naruto closed his eyes, feeling Tsunade's warm dry hand on his forehead. A burst of green chakra erupted behind his eyelids, a falling sensation overcoming his body. Landing with a watery splash, the blonde jinchuuriki opened his eyes to the familiar sewers of his subconciousness. He had been here so many times, he was able to memorize every twist and turn of his maze-like mindscape. Standing up, he squeezed out the excess water from his hospital gown and headed on to Kyuubi's cage. As he came closer, he heard an ominous growling bouncing off the walls. Curious, he quickened his pace.

Arriving at the demon's homestead, he froze in his tracks upon finding that the fox was most definately not alone. Beside the cage bars was a mysterious glowing entity. It looked like a woman with long silver locks, peircing golden eyes, and a fragile like figure. She wore flowing white robes and floated at the very least 100 centimeters off the ground. As a matter of fact, what with her pale, lifeless features, she looked too much like a...

"GHOOOOST!" Naruto screamed, backing up in terror. Ah yes, apparently his fear of the supernatural and the living dead hasn't dwindled either. Really, what was it today huh? National Scare the Shit Out of Naruto day? Cause he was getting so tired of pissing his boxers every other hour. Leaning against the entrance way, he fought to still his heart.

"Shut up you annoying mortal!" Kyuubi snarled, baring his teeth.

The demon was currently backed up in a corner of his cage, his nine tails swishing nervously about. Don't misunderstand. He was not afraid of the phantom creature. Oh no! For pity's sake he had lived for one whole millenium and faced horrors far beyond that of human comprehension! He was not afraid! It was simply a safety precaution. There was just something very wrong with the spirit and he wanted to be as far away as possible from it. Whatever _it_ is.

Regaining his bearings, Naruto turned to the fox. "Ky-Kyuubi. Please tell me that's a friend of yours."

"Heh. I am the great nine-tailed bijuu, kit. I have no friends."

"Then do you at least have any idea who or what that being is?"

"No clue. All I know is that creature has been here since you put on that bracelet. I think it's the spirit trapped within. But that's just pure speculation, gaki. That creature hasn't said a word to me since it got here so..."

"Meaning you have absolutely no idea, right?"

"Don't belittle me human! You are nine centuries too young to even start thinking of belittling me!"

Naruto, however, tuned the demon out completely as he stared inquiringly at the phantom. The being in response shifted its gaze unto the kitsune jinchuuriki. Its sharp, gold eyes rooting Naruto the spot. Moving away from the bars, it floated down towards the blonde. A slim, ivory hand reaching out towards him.

"Well this is new." Kyuubi commented, watching curiously.

"D-Do something!" Naruto cried out. He was terrified. He wanted to run, scream, do anything to get away from this entity. But his limbs wouldn't move, they wouldn't obey. He was frozen, because of the phantom's eyes or of his fear he didn't know.

"I can't gaki. Sealed demon remember."

The phantom was just an inch closer now. Any second and it would be touching him. Naruto didn't want it to touch him. His gut instinct told him, no shouted at him that something bad was going to happen if it touched him. But he couldn't run. Instead, he took a long, deep breath and screamed bloody murder just as the spirit placed two fingers upon his forehead.

Then, nothing. Was he dead? Did he die? He didn't know. All there was was an empty black space. A bottomless void of darkness.

"Naruto, wake up. Check up's over."

That voice it was Sakura-chan's. But where was it coming from?

"Oi! Gaki! C'mon get up!"

That was Tsunade for sure. But how could he reach it? Twisting his body (did he even have a body?) around, he saw it. A small light. He almost missed it too. Swimming, or was he walking? Running? He headed towards it. He was so close, just a little more...Got it!

A bright flash of white and Naruto was staring once more at the dreary plain ceiling of the hospital. Sitting up, he turned to look at two very concerned medics.

"Naruto, are you alright? You were thrashing about for a minute there." Sakura spoke up, a crease appearing on her forehead.

"No, no. I'm just fine." Naruto assured her, smiling.

"Well, what did the fox say?" Tsunade asked, getting straight to the point.

"Okay, so when I arrived, I found Kyuubi was not alone in his chamber." Naruto began, earning him some surprised looks. "There was another soemthing there. I don't know what it was and Kyuubi didn't know either. The only thing the fox told me was that it was probably the bracelet's spirit or whatever. He said it was just a guess. In any case it never said anything. But anyways, it came towards me and it touched me right on the forehead and the next thing I know I'm back here."

"So you met the sealed spirit in the bracelet?" Sakura inquired.

"Yeah, she was freaky looking too. Long silver hair and the strangesy gold eyes!"

"That must be Sato Megumi." Tsunade stated. "I read up some more info about the legend. Apparently the kunoichi who made the bracelet and had the powerful bloodline limit was named Sato Megumi."

"Huh. Maybe next time I'll call her that. Maybe it will get a reaction from her cause all she did was stare at me and Kyuubi."

"Maybe." Sakura replied, her expression brightening all of a sudden. "Hey, listen Naruto, we checked everything about your body. I mean everything. Blood pressure, weight, cholesterol level which by the way ain't looking so good. But I digress. Anywho, we checked everything and we got some good news as well as bad news."

"Oh, what's the good news."

"The good news is everything is fine with your body."

"Oh that's good to know. I guess that the bracelet really hasn't started working yet."

"Wait." Tsunade piped up, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. "There's more."

"More?" Naruto didn't like where this was going. Are those two up to something?

"Yes, more gaki." Tsunade continued, clearing her throat. "After doing several tests on you, we found..."

"Found? Found what? Tell me!"

"We found that you're...Pregnant!"(1)

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**A/N: Yes, I'm evil and leaving you all there. Fear me!! Review so you can all hate me and detest me! **


	7. The Rescue

**A/N: Okay just a reminder. This is a CRACK fic! Don't take _ANYTHING_ so seriously!!**

**Oh, I have this poll on what your thoughts are on The Bracelet. Check it out! In my profile!**

**(1) Yeah, don't hurt me! (Still gets hurt by thousands of flying shuriken and kunai)

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**"WHAAAAT?!"

"Shut the fuck up gaki!" Tsunade scolded, hitting Naruto upside the head. "This is a _hospital_! People _are_ trying to _sleep_!

"Oh, go easy on him, shishou." Sakura chuckled nervously, trying to calm her teacher. "It's not everyday you learn you are pregnant with Sasuke-kun's child."

"It's SASUKE'S?!!" Naruto bellowed, earning himself another whack from Tsunade.

"Well, of course it's Sasuke-kun's." Sakura replied, looking at Naruto suspiciously. "Unless...You've been fooling around with someone I don't know about?"

"NO! I mean I--!" Naruto's face turned an interesting shade of red. Shifting his gaze unto Tsunade, he asked, "How can this be possible?"

"What? You don't know?" Tsunade inquired, shock written all over her face.

"If I knew, why the hell would I ask?"

Tsunade gave him a funny look. "I guess I can explain...But really you ought to know this shit. Ahem, so when a boy and a girl or specifically in your case, a boy and another boy love each other very much-!"

"NO! Oh god, not that! I've had enough of that from Ero-sennin!"

"Jiraiya writes Yaoi porn novels?" Sakura asked, incredously.

"NO! I mean about the se-se-!" Naruto's face had turned so red it would've matched Gaara's hair. The blush had crept up to his ears and even lower nearing his collar bone. His expression was priceless, his mouth agape like a fish as he searched for the right words.

"Say it with me." Tsunade coached. "Se-ex! Sex!"

"Shut up obaa-chan!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms. "And 'sides! It's not possible! It's just not possible!"

"Oh? And why not?"

"C-Cause I-I...I-!"

Tsunade and Sakura stole a glance at one another, both wearing identical smirks. Unable to contain herself, the blonde medic stiffled a chuckle.

Sakura, forcing herself to frown, leaned in closer to Naruto, cupping a hand over her ear. "What? Sorry, Naruto. I didn't quite catch that!"

"I-I'm a-a-!"

Tsunade, not being a very patient woman, shook her fist at the jinchuuriki."Out with it you brat!"

"I'M STILL A VIRGIN! THERE HAPPY?! Senile, old hag!"

Tsunade and Sakura both stared at Naruto as if he had grown two heads. Sharing a look, the two medics collapsed into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"Ahahaha! Oh god, I couldn't take it anymore!" Tsunade gasped out, clutching her stomach. "His face! His face! Did you see his face?! Priceless!!"

"Man, I wish I had a camera!" Sakura choked out, slumping down to the floor.

"Ano...Did I miss something?" Naruto inquired, staring at the two cackling women.

"No! J-Just the funniest prank ever!"

"Eh?"

Regaining her breath, Tsunade wiped away a few stray tears and straightened up. She stared at Naruto's face for few seconds, letting out a few giggles before breaking into a new bout of laughter. "Ahahaha! Sakura, you explain! I can't-Ahahaha-can't look at him right now!"

Sakura nodded, managing to gather her bearings. She slowly stood up, wiping away the imaginary dust on her skirt, before turning to Naruto. "See this is what we figured." she began. "You, my dear friend, has gotten away with plenty, I mean plenty, of annoying little pranks. Ranging from painting the Hokage Monument to dying everything and everyone in the Council Chamber orange."

"And since I am the most revered hokage, I decided it was time for payback." Tsunade broke in. "So, Sakura and I planned this little hoax to scare the shit outta ya! Did it work?"

Naruto could feel his jaw dropping. He huffed angrily, turning away from the two. "That was a stupid prank!"

"We'll take that as a yes!"

It took nearly every ounce of will power Naruto had in his possesion to restrain himself from killing the two. Really, don't they have anything better to do than mess around like this? He voiced out his thoughts only to have Sakura point out that he must also have a lot of time to _still_ be pranking people at his age.

Combing back a few stray hairs, that much to her dismay, had taken on a gray color, Tsunade cleared her throat. Commanding attention with the imposing air that only a weathered leader could have. "Alright, that's enough you two."

Naruto and Sakura froze. They knew that tone. Tsunade only used it when giving her ANBUs high ranking missions or during a critical sugery. It was basically her way of saying "SHUT UP OR I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Now, we weren't lying about the fact that we have examined your entire body Naruto. We checked everything and to be quite frank, you're healthy. In fact the healthiest I've ever really seen you."

"That's good then isn't it?" Naruto meekly ventured.

"Hell no gaki! We have no idea how this curse works and any wrong move could bring your death closer. It would've been nice to see what a wrong move would be in this situation but since we don't, I'll be prohibiting your participation on missions."

"WHAT?! B-But you can't do that! The Jounin Exams are coming up and I'm still short one B-class mission!"

"Too bad gaki, live with it."

Naruto gritted his teeth. He jumped down from the bed, stormed over to a door and slammed it shut.

"That's the closet gaki."

"I knew that!"

Getting out of the closet, Naruto stomped over to the_ entrance_ door and slammed it shut. Sakura sighed, pitying her blonde friend. Especially now since he had just left with back of hospital gown still showing off his cute bum. She dearly hoped he didn't go out like that. He might get raped.

Lowering her gaze, Sakura massaged the bridge of her nose. Tsunade, taking note of her student's actions, walked over.

"We can fix this. I hope you're not giving up yet."

Sakura looked up at her teacher, shaking her head sadly. "It's not that. I'm just wondering how foolish he was to not dress before leaving! With that bracelet on, he could get really hurt out there!"

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Naruto was furious. No he was beyond furious, way beyond. How could that hag do this to him?! Didn't she know the Jounin Exams were important to him? He could never become Hokage this way! And she said he would help him! Bah! 

The rain had stopped and the sun was once again shining. Everyone had resumed their daily business until...A certain blonde walked out of the hospital. With his cute little cheeks, not the one on his face mind you, reddening as a chilly breeze swept throughout the streets.

Naruto wrapped his arms around himself, shivering as the breeze slowly died down. He was clearly unaware of the hungry stares following him or the horde of horny, hormonal boys stalking him. No, he was still thinking of the lost oppurtunity he had at the Jounin Exams. These exams happened every once a year. If he missed this chance he'll have to wait another twelve months. And if he doesn't take the exams, he will be left behind by Sasuke. There was no doubt in Naruto's heart that Sasuke was going to pass and then, the frikkin bastard would become more stronger than him. And-and if Sasuke becomes a jounin, he won't be able to go on as much missions with him as usual...

Naruto's stalkers had come very close to him and as the little kitsune turned the corner, they pounced. They surrounded the confused jinchuuriki, wolfish smiles adorning their faces.

"Are you feet tired, because you've been running through my mind all day long!"

"Can-can I have your picture so I can show Santa what I want for Christmas?"

"If I told you that you had a great body would you hold it against me?"

"Honey, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

"Hey baby, you got something on your butt: my eyes!"

Shouts of corny pickup lines filled the air until finally, one man, either stupid or brave, stepped forward. He was kind of nice looking, short, curly brown hair and dark green eyes. He smiled disarmingly.

"Hi. I'm Mr. Right. Someone said you were looking for me?"

Naruto could gape at him. "Wha?"

Angry mutters and whispers was heard throughout the crowd. One man was irritated enough to step forward, and hug poor, astounded Naru-chan from behind.

"Hey dude, back off! He's mine!" the man shouted, a wandering hand squeezing one of Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto yelped, as he struggled to break free. "I am no ones! Now let go!"

For a moment there was silence, then a new voice piped up. "Oi, oi! Obviously the little blondie doesn't like you! Why don't you just hand him over to me?"

"Like hell he belongs to you! He belongs to me!"

"No, he's mine!"

"Are you guys stupid? He's mine!"

Before Naruto knew it, a fight had broken out between all of his "admirers" and he was caught in the middle of it! What shocked him more was that some had the audacity to grope him and touch him in inappropriate places between punches! Had these people no shame?

After being shoved for the last time, Naruto had had enough. "Argh!! Ack! Stop it! Let me through!"

As if to answer his prayers, pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist and delivered him from the chaos of the crowd.

"Scram all you unyouthful children! Naruto is mine!" his saviour shouted, his arms frighteningly familiar.

"Or you'll do what?" one of his admirers asked idiotically.

His saviour gave him a death glare. His black eyes burning with hatred. "Do you really want to know?"

"N-No..."

"Then scram!"

In less than a second, the street was clear again. Except for the few bodies lying on the ground, Naruto and his saviour were alone.

"Are you alright Naruto?" His saviour asked, placing him gently on the ground.

"Yeah, sure am! Thank you, I--! What are you doing?" the blonde questioned, dread washing over him.

The green clad jounin, Maito Gai was offering him a wilting daisy, on bended knee no less. His eyes were swimming in tears. "You are in you springtime of youth, Uzumaki Naruto! I like that about you. Please be mine!"

Naruto could only stare in helpless amazement as Gai shouted his undying love...For _him_?! Without further ado, his eyes rolled back and the poor kitsune jinchuuriki fainted.

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**A/N: Don't hate me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm really really sorry!! Finals are here, but so is winterbreak. This is my Christmas present to you guys. It's crap and lousy dog shit I know but...yeah. It's crap...I'm having finals right now, I promise I'll do better!! Tell me how bad it is!**

**Wanted: Beta reader! Someone who knows their shit! Cause I do not! Really beta reader! Preferably experienced. **

**Domo arigatou SilverMoonRyu! I really appreciate the help, thanks!**


	8. The Intruder

**A/N: Okay, this is definately one of my worst chapters ever. I hate it, it's really god awful boring. You can leave now. Cause it sucks.**

* * *

Sasuke was having a horrible morning, and he couldn't, not for the life him, phantom the reason why. Quite frankly, in his opinion, he should be having a wonderful day. After all, he had woken up to the charming melody of the birds, and not the usual, wretched screeching courtesy of Naruto. When he went down for his usual morning training, he had been greeted by the serenity of the surrounding forests, instead of infuriatingly annoying whines of his so-called rival. Hell, he even had a pleasant breakfast without the blonde idiot dragging him down to that godforsaken ramen stand and forcing him to pay.

Yes, he had a perfectly quiet, perfectly peaceful, perfectly perfect day. So why, oh why on earth did it feel like something was missing?! Speaking of which, Sasuke hadn't seen hide nor hair of that moronic fool he called a friend. Usually they would be attached at the hip from dawn till night. Not that he minded of course, he enjoyed spending time with Naruto even if said idiot drove him insane. Apparently though, the dead last developed a fear of leaving his side for far too long of a time. That or the dobe simply missed him terribly. Like the way Sasuke was missing _him_ right now...

Whoa, whoa! Time out! Rewind! He did not just say he missed Naruto! Oh god no! No way! Absolutely not! And-and he was **also** not just worrying about Naruto getting into some trouble and lying all helpless in a pool of his own blood. No, certainly not...

"Hn. Maybe the idiot had something else to do or I don't know, got in trouble for another one of his stupid pranks. I'm sure it's nothing to be huffed up and worried about." Sasuke reassured himself. "I'll probably meet up with him sometime today or tommorow. Che, who cares if I even see him at all."

_'You would care. You would care a lot.'_

Sasuke growled, shaking away those perverse thoughts. Sparing a brief glance at the kitchen clock, he jumped. Was it that time? Already?! Shit! He was going to be late for patrol duty! That definately won't look on his record, especially now close to the jounin exams.

Rushing to his closet, he quickly threw on his chuunin uniform. He shot the clock another glance, muttering a curse as he headed out the door. Hopping atop a neighboring roof, he raced towards the village walls. The puddles left in the aftermath of the rain were bothersome, causing him to slow down so as not to trip. He was frantic not stupid, he could handle being late if it meant keeping his neck in tact.

A flash of red caught his attention, bringing him to lower his speed until he eventually stopped. The scene was interesting, a bit on the bloody side but blood was not unfamiliar to a ninja. Especially one of a high caliber such as himself. Still, no matter how common it is to a shinobi, civillians were another thing altogether. They crowded around the mess splattered on street of what looked like the remains of a horrible gang fight. Strange, Sasuke didn't remember any gangs in Konoha, and even if there were, gang fights would probably be prevented by the shinobi. His curiosity getting the better of him, the raven leaped down to take a closer look.

"Sasuke-kun!" a familiar voice called out to him. Turning around, he immediately spotted the bright, pink hair of his comrade.

"Sakura, do you know what happened here?" he asked.

"Naruto happened."

"What, did the dobe go bezerk and gone all four-tails?"

"No. More like his admirers had gone all crazy and he was just caught in their crossfire."

"Admirers? Since when did that dobe have admirers?"

"Oh my, is that jealousy I hear Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura." He growled warningly. As if. The idea of him, Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the famed bloodline the Sharingan, would be jealous over some loud-mouth fool like Naruto, was as ludicrous as Tsunade wearing a thong. That is, if she wasn't already wearing one...Oh god, mental image! Mental image!

Sakura giggled. Honestly, Sasuke could get so defensive over the whole jealousy thing. She found it kinda cute, but at the same time annoying. Why couldn't the raven just come out and admit he liked Naruto? Seriously, everyone in Konoha knew that. Otherwise there wouldn't be a race to claim the blonde's heart while he's still available.

"Well? Answer me. Why does Naruto have admirers?" Sasuke snarled, his patience wearing thin.

Tch, so demanding. Still, if Sakura played her cards right, she might be able to...Smiling so wide it looked like it hurt (and it did), the pinkette turned to her former teammate. "Sasuke-kun? You didn't know?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I did."

"Naruto always had admirers for as long as I can remember. Really, I'm quite surprised gang fights like this one don't happen as often as they could be."

"Is-Is that so?"

"Yup. Actually from what I heard, the admirers are getting bolder. I heard that one of them molested him in a dark alley." This was complete and utter bullshit, of course. It was getting the job done on the other hand. Sasuke looked pissed. Sakura had never seen him this mad.

**_'Good! Then maybe he'll put some fire in his step and at least make an effort to win Naruto's affections!' _**Inner Sakura roared.

Sasuke's eyes began to bleed an ominous crimson-red as three-coma shapes surrounded each pupil. He could feel an intense emotion welling up from the pits of his stomach. It was anger and hatred, feelings he had familiarized himself with. And yet, for the second time of the day, he didn't know the reasons behind these emotions. It couldn't be because of what Sakura said. Certainly not. It wasn't as if he _liked _Naruto and felt _possesive _over the blonde. Right? Right.

Taking a deep breath, the raven mentally kicked himself. Really, he was a ninja. He should be able to control his feelings better than this. Letting his eyes return to it's normal ebony-black, Sasuke stated, "It sounds like Naruto is in danger. Do you know where he is?"

His voice was cool, calm, and collected. The killer intent disappeared. Had Sakura not seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed Sasuke was mad just a few seconds ago. The hell? But anyways, what Sasuke said was true. Naruto's cute bum could be in danger! Or worse, his virginity! This was not the time to be playing mind games, no matter how much fun, with Sasuke!

**_'It was a good plan though. Sasuke would have fallen for it had he not been in denial.' _**Inner Sakura pouted.

"I don't know. I was trying to find out where he is until you showed up." Sakura replied, rather dejectedly.

"Oh, um excuse me?" A raspy voice broke in. Shifting their gazes, the two turned to a little, old lady looking quite intimidated by them.

"Yes, ma'am?" Sakura inquired politely.

"I couldn't help but overhear you're conversation, and I believe you are looking for Naruto? Blonde hair, bue eyes, three marks on each cheek?"

"That's him, ma'am. Have you seen him around somewhere?"

"I did actually. Caught in that crossfire. Poor thing, he was seemed so scared."

The sincerity in the old lady's voice was clear. It was obvious the woman was from out of town, otherwise she'd never have given the time of day to ask about that worthless demon brat. Nodding to herself, Sakura figured it should be safe to ask the lady where she last saw Naruto. She trusted the old lady to not act like any biased villager and lead her on wild goose chase just to prevent them from rescuing the "monster". And besides, she looks harmless enough. Right?

"Where did you last see him going?"

"I saw him being carried by some man wearing a green-spandex jumpsuit and had bowl-cut hair. It appeared that Naruto had fainted, not that I would blame him. I would faint too if I was in his situation." the old lady replied, pointing north-east. "I saw them head in that general direction."

Sakura looked over the old woman's shoulder to the road she had indicated. Damn. That was the road to the hospital! She was just there. Oh well. Turning around, the pinkette was about to inform Sasuke only to find Sasuke had disappeared. Probably went ahead of her. Geez, couldn't he wait? Shifting her attention back to the elderly lady, Sakura bowed in gratitude before dashing off after her former teammate.

The old lady smirked, watching as the unsuspecting chuunin disappeared from her sight. Hobbling over to a secluded alley, she formed a hand seal and let a cloud of smoke envelope her. A tiny, subtle poof was heard and standing in the old lady's stead was Kumo jounin. Closing his eyes, the Kumo jounin tracked the familiar chakra signatures of the Konoha chuunin he had just met.

_'Oh, what poor fools.' _He thought as he discreetly followed the two. _'They should know better than to be so trusting. Their naivete is leading me straight to my target.'_


	9. The Heartbreak

**A/N: This should be a pretty interesting chapter, at least I think it is. You'll just have to find out on your own though... So read my pretties! Read! And once you are done, review! Review I say! Mwuhahahahahaha!! Oh, and on a side note, I'm toying with a new story idea, you can find it's summary on my profile. Tell me what you think, I don't care how you tell me but just, you know, tell me.**

* * *

The familiar, stark-white ceiling lined with an infinite number of cracks, the ever pungent scent of illness, medicine, and disinfectant hanging heavily in the air, the eerie silence broken only by the pitiful bouts of coughing and the light taps of footsteps, oh yeah. He was most certainly in the hospital. Again. This had to be a record. He just got out of this place and not even ten minutes later, he was back in! This time it wasn't even his own fault! Stupid admirers...

His blue eyes widening, Naruto bolted up from bed, his scrutinizing gaze surveying his surroundings. His hospital room was nicer this time, he idly noted. The walls weren't their usual bare, white-washed self but instead it was painted a soothing creme color. The polished hardwood floor was a nice change from its blindingly white tiled counterpart. Heck, even his sheets weren't their usual dull color. They were, as a matter of fact, a light reddish-brown color almost a maroon shade. The room wasn't very furnished though, only having a couple of arm chairs standing by a window on his right, a handsome oak dresser at the foot of his bed, another bed farther on his left, and a short, bedside table laden with gifts, bouquets, and candy on his right.

Wait, hang on! Gifts? Bouquets?! Candy?!! What in the-! Groaning in absolute frustration, Naruto lowered his head, cupping it within the confines of his hands. Geez, he could only guess that the very same group of guys fighting over him in what he estimated to be two hours ago was the same group of guys who gave him all these get-well presents. That or it was an entirely new group of guys, possibly the male hospital staff, that gave him all these things. He shuddered at that thought. That was definately the last thing he wanted! Just the thought of it made him want to curl up in his bed, the one at home, and never get out. But of course that was not a possibility and he would never do it, no matter how tempting the idea may seem. Why? Because he was Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage and blah, blah, bloody blah!

Collapsing back on his comfy pillow, Naruto turned to the bright side of things. He always did this when he was feeling goddamn awful, it was like a survival technique. If he did not find the silver lining, he would be swallowed up by the darkness of the storm. Now he feared being swallowed by something other than the darkness. The fake love he was showered with lately by his so called "admirers" made him feel empty. He couldn't explain it but it just didn't feel okay. Well of course, it's not okay! He was being mauled by the same gender for pity's sake! Which is why he was deeply thankful that Gai was not around. He didn't think he could handle feeling that disturbing emptiness or the painful guilt he felt knowing he could manipulate someone else like that. There was something else though. Something other than the fact that he was being hit on by men. Something that had solidified his absolute loathing at the bracelet's curse. But what?

The familiar sound of footsteps reached Naruto's sensitive ears, breaking him from his thoughts. He immediately feigned sleep as the door slid open. The footsteps were coming closer now and closer still until finally...

BAM!!

Naruto was startled as a solid kick pushed him roughly out of bed. He landed with an imminent thud, his head dizzy from the impact. Shaking away the pain, Naruto stood up.

"What kind of nurse are you? Pushing a patient out of his bed! I could've damn well gotten hurt!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his visitor.

Black eyes regarded him cooly as Sasuke in all his proud glory stood before Naruto. He was in his chuunin uniform as usual, and with his arms crossed over his chest. An annoyed frown marred his over all expressionless face.

"Do I look like a nurse to you, idiot?" he asked smoothly.

"I thought you were..." Naruto began.

"You thought I was a nurse? Honestly Naruto, I thought with all the years we spent together, you would at least recognize my chakra signature."

"But I-!"

"Oh, and I know for a fact that falling off a bed will not bruise your 'fragile' skin."

"Bastard! I was nearly gang-raped by a group of hormonal boys and yet the first thing you say to me is an insult! You're such a heartless prick!"

For a moment, an identifiable emotion flickered behind those ebony-black orbs but it flashed away so quickly Naruto was sure it was simply his imagination. His thin lips twisting into a snarl, Sasuke suddenly found the ceiling very interesting. He sighed audibly.

"I-I _was_ worried about you, dobe." Sasuke stated, tearing his gaze from above and unto Naruto's cerrulean eyes. "And-And honestly, I'm happy that you're awake."

There were many things he hated about having the bracelet have its magic work on him but this by far took the take. As Naruto stared into inky-black pools that were Sasuke's eyes, realization hit him like a seven ton train. That unsettling something was, in fact, a want that lay deep in his heart. He never noticed it before but now, hearing Sasuke say those words, Naruto realized that more than anything, even more than wanting to be Hokage, he wanted someone to say those words, those three words...And actually mean it.

_'I want to fall in love...'_

"Dobe!" Sasuke yelled, hitting Naruto upside the head.

"Ouch! Sasuek why'd you--hey, when did you get over here?" Naruto asked, seeing Sasuke no longer at the opposite side of the bed.

"Had you been paying attention, you would've known." Sasuke retorted.

Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out. "Arrogant jerk!"

"Get back in bed, I'll go tell Sakura you're awake. She's been worried."

"She's been worried?"

"Of course idiot. Why not? Now c'mon!"

Without so much as a warning, Naruto was lifted off the ground and being carried bridal style by Sasuke, only to be dropped unceremoniously on the bed like a sack of potatoes. Naruto shrieked as he fell on the bed with a light thump. He glared at Sasuke as the other man calmly exited the room.

"Don't move alright?" Sasuke said over his shoulder as he closed the door.

Naruto in reply, puffed up his cheeks, leaning back on his feathery pillow. Feeling Sasuke's chakra signaturemove farther away, he cocooned himself with the maroon sheets, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. He let his mind wander over to the stunning realization as another thought came into mind. As much as he wanted to fall in love, Naruto also understood the fact that he was scared. He didn't exactly have a glamorous childhood and he had experienced emotional pain more times than he was comfortable with. To be frank, Naruto just didn't want to feel such agony again. He didn't want to get hurt. No, not again.

_'I want to fall in love, but I don't want to get hurt. That's not a possibility though.'_

And all his admirers were just making him more confused! Their fake promises were so persuading...Shifting his position so he's back was to the window, Naruto heaved another great sigh.

Unbeknowst to him though, a Kumo jounin sat hidden in the branches of a nearby tree. A twisted smile formed upon his lips as he watched with hawk-like intensity, the actions of his target. He wasn't thinking about how he was going to plan to kidnap the kid, no, in fact he was thinking of a way to make that kid his. Yes, unfortunately the Kumo jounin has fallen under the spell of the enchanted bracelet. It was amazing really, if one stepped back and looked, truly looked at the capabilities of the bracelet. A perfect show of this power was this Kumo jounin who had weathered the Great Wars, willing to sacrifice himself for his village, was easily swayed at failing the mission for a boy he had no knowledge of whatsoever.

"I wonder if he would prefer a seductive hotel room or if I could just fuck him right here and now." the jounin mumbled absent mindedly to himself.

Gritting his teeth, he decided to throw caution to the wind. He was likely to never have a chance with the blond alone like this. Might as well make the best of it. Leaping from his perch, he crashed through the window panes, startling Naruto.

"Who the hell are-?" Naruto started but was interrupted when after one look at him, the foreign ninja pounced.

The Kumo jounin sent him and Naruto crashing on the floor where he pinned his target's arms and legs down, immobilizing him. He grinned in perverted glee as he stared down at the flushed face of Naruto. He didn't waste his time, immediately crashing his lips against the others. The boy beneath him gasped in surprise, giving him an opening to shove his tongue into the warm, moist cavern.

Naruto felt dizzy, and sick to his stomach too. This man, perhaps twice his age was french kissing him and grinding his hips heavily against him. He tried to fight back but he was rapidly losing his strength. Of course, not one to give up, he thrashed around like a fish out of water only to freeze as a calloused hand reached beneath his hospital gown. That was the last straw! Biting down hard upon the other man's tongue, Naruto managed to free one leg as the man yelped in pain. He kneed the man, hard too, right at his balls, causing the attacker to howl in pain. He didn't stop there either, he delivered a swift kick in the man's stomach and speedily shoved him off. Crawling rapidly away, he pushed himself up and mananged to stand, his overall frame trembling.

"Little bitch!" the Kumo jounin roared, lunging again at Naruto from his position on the floor.

Naruto ducked, twisting his body away from his pyschotic fanboy. Apparently pain seemed to break a man from the enchantment, causing other feelings other than love to surface. He stored that information for future reference. Making a handseal, Naruto used his signature technique.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

He sent his clones towards the man who had crashed unto one of the chairs, but to his horror, the Kumo jounin simply pulled out a kunai and dispelled both clones.

"I'm a jounin you brat! I'm far above your level!" the man shouted, getting up, his body moving into a fighting stance. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several shuriken, all of which he threw expertly at Naruto.

Fortunately for Naruto, after three years of traveling with his late, perverted sensei, he had learned to dodge efficiently. He had to, otherwise the pack of angry women would be able to tear away his precious family jewels. So, with equally expert timing, Naruto dodged the shuriken gracefully, only to be hit by the brunt of a very powerful lightning attack. His opponent was a jounin after all, a veteran too. It should be no surprise that the man made hand seals faster than Kakashi. Crashing unto the wall (that also suffered the devastating attack), Naruto's mind raced as he desperately thought of a plan. And what better plan than the tried and true?

"Bastard! You're going to pay for molesting me!" Naruto snarled as he peeled himself off the burnt wall, his chakra swirling in one hand.

Plan A: Beat the living shit out of this man.

"Oh, so want to fight do you? Well get ready!" the jounin yelled, charging straight at Naruto.

Naruto braced himself, ready to shove his fully formed rasengan into the other man's gut. Before he could do anything however, the man collapsed, falling in a dead faint right in front of him. A kunai was stuck to his back, dug right below his neck. Belwidered, Naruto looked up and was shocked to see what seemed to be the grinning face of...Kakashi?!

"Yo!" his former teacher greeted. "Aren't you happy I happy I saved you Naru-chan?"

"Happy?! Where were you five minutes ago when I needed you the most?!" Naruto questioned shrilly. "And how were you able to sneak up on him?!" _'And me!'_

"Simple, really, my sweet Sunshine-kun! I am also a jounin and I have learned a thing or two about hiding my prescence. I had to, how else would I peek on the curvy beauties of our home? But that doesn't mean I'll be unfaithful to you, Naru-chan! Naru-chan will always be number one in my heart! I'm sorry about not rescuing earlier though. I couldn't you see, I had to take a detour-"

His eyebrow twitching, Naruto could not help but stare at Kakashi in absolute disbelief. Unbelievable. He didn't know whether to be more astounded by the fact that Kakashi was trying to become the next Ero-sennin or the fact that the man was even late at rescuing people.

"-and so here you go!" Kakashi finished, presenting a velvet box of chocolates and a decent size bouquet.

"Kakashi! I was just molested and the only thing you can think about is giving me you stupid presents?! Do you think showering me with more fake affection is going to make me feel better?!"

Kakashi gave no reply, staring at Naruto emotionessly for a second or two. Then his face lit up again. "My affection is not fake! To prove it to you, why don't you come over to my place Sunday night?"

Naruto threw his hands up in sheer anger. "Argh!"

At that moment, Sakura and Sasuke chose to make their appearance, both breathing harshly. The two had heard a commotion the moment they had stepped out of the elevator, the noise was coming from Naruto's room and were making all the patients upset. This made the duo worry, and they ran the lenght of the hallway, the worse case scenario flashing in their heads. Their concerns were well founded for the room was a mess, Naruto looked bruise, and Kakashi was holding a box chocolates along with flowers. Yup, something was definately wrong.

"What had happened here?" Sakura asked, after taking in the state of the room.

"A crazy foreign jounin crashed through the window, tackled me from my bed, pinned me down, molested me, and then I kicked him off so he was pissed. Then we started to fight, and then another crazy fanboy comes in, acts like my knight in shining armor but in fact, he's even worse than the foreign ninja! What's more is that my so-called 'savior' is nothing other than my former sensei! Do you realize how goddamn infuriating that is?! I'm so sick and tired of this!!" Naruto screamed, his eyes flashing red.

"Naruto calm down, please! This is a hospital-!" Sakura began cautiously approaching the blond.

"I don't fucking care! I have the right to shout, yell, and rant as much aas I want! Do you have any idea how wrong it is to be molested, kissed more times than you can count, and nearly gang rape by your own gender?! Well let me tell you, it feels wrong! God awful wrong! I feel so dirty right now, you don't even know!"

"Naruto, we get that your mad right now but you have to get a hold of yourself! Kyuubi might-!" Sasuke tried to placate his rival but to no avail. The other merely shifted his gaze to him, his eyes now a full, bloody red.

"I. Don't. Care. I'm not gay or bi or anything else other than straight as a ruler! I will never fall in love with another man Sasuke! Not in this life or the next!"

Without another word, Naruto pushed his way past an speechless Sakura, slamming the door shut behind him. A moment of silence as the medic-nin silently watched her former crush and teammate.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kakashi tentatively asked, lowering his presents.

Sakura wanted to scream and yell out that yes he did something wrong but refrained from doing so. More anger would not help the situation, she knew it certainly wouldn't help Sasuke.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" she inquired, obvious worry lacing her tone.

The Uchiha didn't answer, continuing to stare where Naruto had just been. And really, what was he suppose to say? That he was fine? Because he certainly wasn't. Once again, he didn't know why. His best friend just admitted he wasn't gay and would never fall for the same sex. Big deal. This shouldn't concern him. He should be happy his friend wasn't gay. But then why, oh why did it feel like his heart just broke into a million pieces?

Feeling the need to clear his head, Sasuke turned and left the room. He ignored Sakura's pleas for him to come back, his eyes focused to the front. In the back of his mind, a tiny voice spoke.

_'Did I ever had a chance to begin with?'

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_**A/N: Ugh. Tired. I finished this chapter in like four hours straight. No break. I'm a pretty slow at typing. Anyways, liked it? Didn't like it? Tell me! I live on feedback! Review!!**


	10. The Talks

**A/N: Yeah, I have no comments. Shocking isn't it? Oh, and thank my beta-reader Rikku Madara Uchiha! Guys this like filler chapter. The next chapter is going be another filler chapter. Sorry I had to space it out guys! Oh, and check out my new poll for The Bracelet! Remember to vote! VOTE!!**

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, please!" Sakura called after her retreating teammate's back. It was futile though, and she understood that. The dark-haired boy was in turmoil right now. She doubted anyone but Naruto could reach him.

Her name is Haruno Sakura. She was at the top of her academy class back in her academy days. She had the most brains and booksmarts, able to complete the Chuunin exam's writing portion _without _cheating. Because of her perfect chakra control, she became the prodigal student of the famed Slug Sannin Sanji Tsunade-hime. From said woman, she acquired the skills to be a highly accomplished medic-nin with fearsome strength. With these abilities, she and Chiyo-baa-sama took on the S-rank criminal, Sasori, and won. To top that all off, Sakura was already a jounin at the young age of seventeen, turning eighteen, and she was teammates with the soon-to-be legedary Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

Unfortunately for her, even with all these different capabilities, she still could not help the ones most precious to her, aside from Lee. Her teammates. Hell, she was a medic-nin for pity's sake! Medic-nin's were suppose to be the back up, the support, the fricken help! And yet now, with Sasuke heart-broken and Naruto on a rampage, she was left standing in the dust and clueless. Completely and utterly clueless. Sighing, Sakura leaned against the charred wall and slowly slid down to the floor. Then again, really, what _could _she do? Unless Naruto agrees to take back everything he has said, then this problem will never be fixed. And because of his goddamn nindo, the "I never go back on my word" macho thing he has going for him, the chances of getting this problem fixed was at an absolute zero possibility.

_'Is it always going to be like this? Will I always be standing on the sidelines while Naruto and Sasuke are in pain?'_

"Sakura!"

The sharp voice of her usually goofy sensei cut through her thoughts. She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to look up.

"What do you want Kakashi?"

"Sakura! This man needs your medical expertise, the least you could do is look up!"

Kakashi was getting a touch impatient, which really wasn't doing much to help his already sour mood. He, at the moment, felt confused for one thing and he didn't like feeling confused. Last thing he had remembered was walking towards the Memorial Stone to go visit Obito again. He did this every morning, hence the reason he was always late. Everything after that was just blank.

He couldn't bring to memory any other significant events besides seeing a large green and orange blur. That and someone obscenely yelling things about passionate youth and love. It must've been Gai. In any case, the next thing he knew was that he was standing in a hospital room. Of course, being an experienced shinobi, the first thing he did was observe his surroundings. First off, there was a pool of blood beneath his feet. It was staining his sandals, which irritated him because blood was hard to wash off.

Second, there was a Kumo ninja lying in front of him. Was he dead? How did he get into Konoha? Or perhaps more importantly, how'd he get wounded? He hoped it wasn't because of him. Hurting another without having any recollections of it was very disconcerting. He fervently wished he wasn't going insane. Still, it wasn't as if it wasn't inevitable. Being a ninja all your life can cause lapses of sanity now and again.

Thirdly, he noticed his former student looking miserable as she sat in front of the wall. She was clearly upset about something. But what?

After finishing his observations, he decided to take action. Despite the probability of the Kumo nin having permission to enter Konoha, it was still suspicious for the man to be lying on the ground, bleeding or possibly even dead. There must've been a reason as to why he was in such a predicament. What could it have been? Chance are he must've provoked someone. That means he obviously has a motive, or perhaps he felt wraithfully towards someone in Konoha. Either way, the man was shady character and clearly needed to be interrogated. Since shinobi had to be alive to be sent to Ibiki, he needed to be healed.

Well, they were in a hospital. Getting some medical attention couldn't be too hard. But, alas, he was proven wrong when Sakura, in all her "cheery" disposition, could not even bother to take him seriously. The situation was becoming more urgent, he thinks he's going insane, and he hasn't visited Obito yet. So, Kakashi believes that he **definitely** has every right to be in a sour mood. Which is exactly why he threw a kunai at Sakura to get her damned attention.

The young woman gave a shriek of surprise and sent a nasty glare in Kakashi's immediate direction. Kakashi responded with a glare of his own.

"You didn't have to do that."

"My apologies, but, Sakura, we are ninja first and foremost. Therefore I would like for you to acknowledge that even though we are currently off a mission, when a superior urgently _asks _for your attention, you give it to him."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura replied, calling the masked-nin sensei out of habit. Realizing her mistake, a slight pink dusted her face.

"Good. Now, I believe that this man need your help. Ibiki has been complaining about a decrease of victims. Oh, and I want a full explanation after this whole ordeal is taken care of. Alright?"

"Got it!" Sakura replied, as she scrambled over to the wounded man. Placing her hands on top of the Kumo jounin's wound, her hands immediately glowed green as she set to work.

"I'll go get some help." And without further ado, Kakashi 'poofed' away. Sakura made mental note to ask him about teaching her that move. In all her years, she had never really learned that move. As strange as that may seem. . . Closing her eyes, she focused on the man's wound. She felt content that at least she was doing something useful to someone. And once she explains everything to Kakashi, maybe he could help. Or not. But anywho, that little stunt Kakashi pulled scared the shit out of her. She gets it though. The man was probably just another one to be added to the growing list of confused and hurt people. That doesn't mean, however, that she wasn't grateful to have some peace and calm around her.

SLAM!

She spoke way too soon. The familiar footsteps echoed in the room as Sakura saw a faint tinge of orange at the corner of her eye. Was it Naruto?

"Naruto? Is that you?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, Sakura-chan, have you seen my pants?" The sounds of drawers opening could be heard as Naruto off-handedly responded.

"You left them again didn't you?"

Shuffling. "…..No!" He said with a slight pause.

"Naruto! How could you forget your pants? Twice!"

"I just can okay! Now, tell me where they are!"

"I refuse to tell you until you and I are able to talk more about this gay/straight situation."

"What is there to talk about? I'm straight, I'm planning to ask Hinata out soon. "

Sakura sighed, unconsciously pushing more chakra into the Kumo jounin. The man groaned.

"Look, I didn't want to tell you this but Hinata is already dating Kiba."

"Oh..." More drawers being opened. Damn, how many drawers were in that hospital room? "Well, I'll just find somebody else is all. No big."

"Naruto, I understand that you were hurt and upset when you shouted those things, but, do you honestly mean them?"

The blond paused in his search. "Are you implying that I'm not straight?"

"No, well yes, but...!"

"Sakura-chan I'm not gay or bi! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a homophobe but I like boobs okay? Nothing will change that."

_'Even if Sasuke confessed his undying love for you?' _"Naruto..."

"Aha! Found my pants!" The faint rustle of clothes was heard as Naruto put on the garment. "I can see that you're busy Sakura-chan. Why don't we hang out later? Get some training done, maybe?"

Footsteps were heard, a door was opening. Sakura panicked. She couldn't let the boy leave! Not yet. They haven't properly worked things out! Damn! Where was Kakashi with the help? Must he be late in everything he does?

"Wait! Naruto!"

But Naruto was already closing the door, Sakura's call never reaching his ears. Jogging down the hallway, Naruto opted to use the stairs, not wanting to wait around for the elevator. Soon, he reached the lobby where he hurriedly said good-bye to Shizune. She occupied by a patient though and didn't notice him. That was okay, Shizune was head nurse.

What wasn't okay was the male patient looking at him all funny-like. Naruto thought he was drooling. Worst part was the guy was like forty something. That quickened his pace as he hurried out the hospital. He wanted to go home and rest in his own bed now. Today was just one of those days, after all.

He was careful not to use the main streets this time around. He learned his lesson after that gang fight. It brought back some memories as he trudged through a trash filled alley. It reminded him of the olden day when he was still being hated by everyone. The loathing has gone down a notch or two, but not too far. At least they didn't openly glare at him.

Kicking an innocent pebble, Naruto's thought drifted back in the days where he would avoid the main roads just like he was doing now. Back then, he just wanted to be away from the suffocating anger that targeted him, the underlying death threats that whispered behind the cool glares given to him. Back than, he just wanted to get away from it all.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts, he had forgotten to pay attention to where he was going. This, of course, lead him to accidentally bumping into someone. He was just lucky it wasn't a wall or a rabid dog.

"Dickless?"

Or maybe it really just wasn't his day after all. Naruto couldn't help but groan. The last thing he wanted was to hear more of those god awful pick-up lines.

"Look Sai! I know you want to say that my eyes are pretty, or my butt is cute, but right now, I just want you to fuck off okay? I'd rather not hear anymore horrible pick-up lines."

Sai only smiled that irritating smile of his. "How about some good pick-up lines then?"

"Huh?"

"Like...Do you believe in the hereafter? Well, then, I guess you know I'm here after. Or oh, how about...Are you lost ma'am? Cause heaven's a long way from here. No? Then what about-!"

"No Sai! Just shut up! Where did you get that shit anyways?"

"Oh from the book I just read. The title was _Pick-Up lines for the Desperate._"

"You read way too much, Sai." Naruto snarled, pushing the pale boy aside. "And for your information, it's sir not ma'am."

That irritating smile was wiped off of Sai's face now. There looked to be some genuine concern in his eyes but of course, Naruto didn't see that. He was too busy stomping and being angry.

"You look...Angry. You are alright?"

Naruto paused in mid-step. "I won't blow up at you for asking such a stupid question since I know you're emotionally retarded but yes, I am angry."

"Then maybe we could… um… discuss why you are angry. A book told me that talking about your anger helps you relieve yourself of it."

"Really Sai. Reading that much can't be healthy for you." Naruto sighed. "Look, if I tell you why I'm so angry, will you get off of my back?"

"But I'm not even on your back."

"No, I meant if I tell you, will you leave me alone?"

"Yes."

"Then I 'spose there's not going to be any harm if I tell you. As long as you don't grope me or anything."

"I won't. Unless you want me to."

"Riiiight. Well, I don't so there. Anyways, I'm angry because of this bracelet!" Naruto stated, lifting his wrist to show the offensive piece of jewelry. "It has this stupid curse that makes men, of all the fucking genders, fall in love with me. They tell me, like, all these crappy pick up lines and ask me on dates. Most if not all, have the nerve to touch me! Inappropriately, that is."

"And all this, erm, affection is making you feel uncomfortable? Why? I thought you liked having bonds."

"Not this kind! Sai, I'm a guy and guys aren't suppose to like other guys."

"There is something wrong with liking someone of the same sex?"

"YES!"

"But...Why? Books tell me that it is perfectly human to feel affection or, um, love for another human being. Aren't men, despite being the same gender, classified under the 'another human being' category? What makes the relationship between two men off-limits?"

"Because it's not normal! It oversteps normal social boundaries!"

"Your point being? Forgive me if I offend you in anyway but, Naruto-kun, from my understanding, you being who you are, have already overstepped the boundries of society's normalcy terms. I think you are so far beyond the boundary, I truly think there is no need for concern if you step a little further away."

"Y'know what? One of the things I'll do when I become Hokage is to ban you from the all reading establishments."

"Aren't I correct, though?"

Naruto stared Sai straight in the eyes. "It's not that easy. I'm already hated enough as it is. I don't want to give the villagers anymore reason to hate me more."

"But you have these strong bonds between you and your friends, right? I'm pretty sure people like Sakura-san wouldn't cut off your friendship for a such a petty, insignificant thing."

"How are you so sure?"

"She told me so herself."

"I would like to agree with you, Sai. With everything you have said, but..." At this Naruto started walking away. "There are still my emotions to take into account and I really don't feel comfortable with my situation."

"I see..." Sai replied, falling into step behind the enigmatic blonde.

"I mean, it feels so wrong when they touch me, or kiss me, or tell me such embarrassing things." Naruto paused. Turning around, he faced Sai. "Actually, throughout this whole conversation, you haven't done one thing like that.Why would that be, Sai?"

Sai smiled, this one was a true smile. "It's probably because if the bracelet makes people like you Naruto-kun, then it won't have any affect on me because I've already liked you from the very start."

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**A/N: Hoped you like this new chapter. God it was hard to write this. I suffered immense writer's block. Please review.**

**Rikku Madara Uchiha: Hello, I would just like to ask two things: alert me if I spelled ANYTHING wrong or used bad grammar and TWO: Please review.**


	11. The Second Stone

**A/N: Well, Okay. I'm sorry to say this but...I am discontinuing the story. Tough luck but what can you do? ... You don't believe me? Well if you didn't, good for you. Think of it as my April Fool's joke. If you did, I hope you didn't die out of shock.**

**Anyways, the poll is now officially closed. Next chapter will have my OC's grand entrance. But not really grand. As promised she is going to be like a background character. You won't even notice her. Actually I doubt even the Naruto characters will notice her. Hehehehe...You'll see! But yeah, seriously, it won't change the plot. Not at all. I just needed another character to move the plot along faster.**

**Also, thank my beta-reader Rikku Madara Uchiha! And those who helped me catch some mistakes in the past chapters, Angel Girl Julia and Iago, you have my gratitude as well.**

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"Like? What do you mean by like Sai?" Naruto tentatively asked, unconsciously backing up.

"Oh, you don't know what it means? I'm quite surprised. I thought you would especially you with all your 'bonds' talk." Sai, replied, his hand reaching into his pack.

"Well, how was I supposed to know! You never gave me any hints! Well if you did, they were too subtle!"

"Why didn't you go ask Yamato-taichou then? Perhaps Kakashi-sensei? I'm sure Sakura-san would love to explain it to you."

"Wha-? Why would I-?! Why would _they_-?!"

"Ah! I found it!" Sai exclaimed, pulling out a scroll with the characters for 'like' on it. "Like is a verb, at least for this definition. It means to regard with favor; have a kindly or friendly feeling for (a person, group, etc.); find attractive. Though the meaning might be a bit of an understatement if you ask me, it did answer your question right?"

"Huh?" Naruto replied, oh so eloquently. Then, a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh_…. OH_! Look, uh, I think there's been a-a misunderstanding. I didn't ask for the dictionary definition, Sai, I meant, what are your feelings for me?"

"I distinctly remember already informing you that I like you. I like you very, _very_ much."

"Argh… let me rephrase that again...Um, what I really meant was in what way do you like me? As a friend? You _do_ like me as a friend, right? Or perhaps you like me in a-a r-r-romantic fashion? As in, you want to be my l-l-lo-boyfriend? Or-or maybe you're one of those perverts! The one that-that want to pin me down and-and f-f-fuck me raw!"

Sai raised an elegant eyebrow, Naruto smiled sheepishly in response. "Sorry about the vulgarity. I-I'm just on the edge is all."

Sai smiled that unsure smile of his, his brow furrowing in an exasperated expression. After a year with Sakura, that emotion called annoyance must've caught on. "It's fine, I understand. Today and yesterday must've been stressful on you. And to answer your question...Yes, I do like you as friend. I-I suppose that is true."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. _'Oh thank god!'_

"I also want to be more though. Much more, if that is possible. A boyfriend of sorts, is that what you called it? The name you call a male whom you are dating?"

In .001 seconds, Naruto's world collapsed. He could practically hear it crashing all around him_. 'There is no god!_'

"And then, if you'd let me, make hot passionate love to you all night long."

_'Someone up there really hates me.' _Naruto threw Sai a withering glare.

"What? I read plenty of books, Naruto-kun. Who is to say I don't read porn as well?"

Naruto shook his head. Perverts! He was surrounded by them! "You can't mean any of that! Especially the part about making l-l-lo-lo- what you said! I-You-You haven't even known about emotions until a year ago!"

This was a very harsh thing to say and Naruto was quite aware of that, but...He had this feeling. It pooled into his gut, making him extremely uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in a way that a deer would be uncomfortable in front of a speeding, sixteen-wheeler truck. Naruto wanted nothing more than to bolt, to run far, _far _away from here. Anywhere but here. If only he could get his legs moving…!

"That is correct, I must admit. I didn't have a clue about emotions before, and I certainly don't have a solid grasp of it now. On the other hand, I am sure of one thing. The first time I met you, I thought you were a bumbling, dick-less fool. I still think that of you but with more respect."

"Get to the point." Naruto twitched, pulling his lips back in a snarl. Funny how he could be anxious one moment then pissed in the next. He wondered for a moment if he was suffering from bipolar disorder.

Sai smiled apologetically. "Naruto-kun, do you remember that time when we first tried to rescue Sasuke-san? I do. I could never forget what you did in that dark, underground lair. You made me smile for the very first time in the longest while, and I had ended up admiring you for it. I ended up wanting to protect your precious bonds. As time went on, that admiration and that yearning to protect grew. It grew indefinitely as I took a crash course in this subject called emotions. Eventually, it all came to a point where I thought of you every single moment of every single day. Admittedly it bothered me, but I became distracted when far more...disturbing actions appeared."

Sai's smile dropped, his shoulders stiffened, and his knees began to shake. He placed a tentative hand where his heart should be, taking sudden interest in the dirty, alley floor. Swallowing, he found it extremely strange how the words seemed to be lodged in his throat, forced back by an unseen force. How the foreign feeling of dread wrapped around him like a cocoon, robbing him of air.

And yet...There was another feeling. One he could not name. It was like a flame deep within the caverns of his chest, a fiery heat that increased the invisible pressure instead of alleviating it. The flame forced the words to come out. It forced him to speak. And speak he did.

"E-E-Even now it's h-happening. My heart... It flutters when you are around, my stomach...I believe the term is 'knots', yes, my stomach begins to display immense flexibility as it twists itself in knots. My knees start to shake, I feel breathless and clammy, and yet strangely, I have never felt better. I thought I was coming down with something but… all this only seemed to happen around… you. Since this was the case, I thought I had developed an allergy of you, that all my symptoms were just an allergic reaction. I thought of distancing myself from you but surprisingly, that prospect was too painful to bear. When I ran out of ideas, I then of course consulted Sakura-san...She laughed at me. She said that I was in love, not sick. I asked her what love was but she said I had to 'find out for myself'."

Sai, his eyes refusing to meet Naruto's, moved to take out another scroll from his pack. This one had the character for love on it. "Naturally, I looked it up in the dictionary and I even wrote down the definition. In the end, I am still very much confused. Is love this feeling I get whenever I am around you? This warm, anxious feeling? Is love this unbearable pain I get whenever you are not near? How I scour my surroundings in case you should appear? Is love this complete and total disregard for my own health because I am so obsessed with yours? How I feel so helpless whenever I can't comfort you? I don't know. I doubt I ever will. After all, in the words of Sakura-san, I am 'emotionally retarded'." He finished, feeling slightly unsure of how Naruto would react.

He lowered his head further, to the point where it touched his chest. The dread was overpowering him. Sai was actually surprised he still managed to breathe. And yet despite his slight asphyxiation, a feeling bubbled inside of him. Something he had never felt before… What was it? His instincts told him to repress the emotion, but it was just so bubbly and light. As if he was anticipating something wonderful. What in the world could it be?

Sai smiled again, an air of melancholy enveloping his being. His eyes had drifted shut somewhere along his speech, as if trying to hide some piece of him from Naruto's scrutinizing gaze. It was futile though. "Naruto-kun, I can't say I love you without lying to your face. I can say I care deeply for you, more so than I ever did with my late brother. More so than I ever did for anybody. More so, I'm afraid, than I ever will. Forgive me if you will, should I sound cliché or sappy but these are, honest to God, or any other higher deity out there, my feelings for you. This is a fact, for I can't really make a decent lie outside a mission, that life without you is...It's not possible anymore. I can't imagine it anymore. I-I..."

Sai's whole posture sagged, a sign of complete surrender. Naruto looked worriedly at him, wondering if the other was going to faint. "Sai...?"

Without warning, Sai looked up, coal-black pools locking onto cerulean orbs. "I apologize if I am overstepping some boundary here, but... I have come to _need_ you Naruto-kun. I have come to need your smiles, your strength, your presence overall. _I need you._"

The onslaught of emotions behind Sai's usually blank eyes hit Naruto like a train. No, even heavier than that. But that weight was nothing compared to the absolute feeling of desperation coating Sai's voice. If that wasn't enough, Naruto's brain finally caught up with him and he was able to decipher the meaning of Sai's words. And the blond honestly wished he didn't. When they said ignorance was bliss...They had something there.

Need? Naruto knew what it meant, having often used it. His deprived bordering on abused childhood caused him to _need _plenty growing up. But now, this...The way Sai used that word...It made it so different. He _needed _him? _He _needed _him_? It was such an unusual concept, Naruto didn't know what to make of it. Despite all that he had said, about the whole 'bonds' thing, it had always been him _needing_ (god, there was that word again) others. It was never the case of them _needing _him. In the back, perhaps the furthest part of his subconscious, a voice whispered to him that he should be elated. Happy. Joyous that the fact someone needed him. That it wasn't him who needed anchoring but he was the anchor. He should be happy, right?

Then why the fear pushing at his heart? Why the unease settling in his stomach? Was it because of the bracelet?

As if hearing Naruto's thoughts, Sai responded. His face serious and somewhat grim. "If you think my feelings are produced by some odd enchantment you have inflicted upon you then you are wrong. These feelings I have felt for you have been here for quite sometime now. Ask Sakura-san if you will. And I have not groped you or touched in a manner that you did not wish me to, like all the rest. I have not romanced you in such a way that embarrassed you. I'm different from all the rest and I have said nothing but my honest feelings."

Naruto never doubted Sai's feelings. Not once. For it was true. Sai was different. He showed vulnerability and yet strength along with warmth he not seen in all the rest. Besides, if he did doubt him, he could just punch him in the face, see if that jolted him out of the spell. Well he could do that now and use that as an excuse when he really he was only relieving some tension. Nah...

Still, there was the fear, the unease. Naruto had a pretty good guess where they came from now. After all, it is a pretty well-known fact that humans, being suspicious creatures, were afraid of things they could not comprehend. Naruto couldn't comprehend why Sai liked _him_ of all people. Why him? Why not Ino? Ino liked Sai… a _lot _actually. Why couldn't Sai like her instead? It would save them all a helluva lot of trouble. Why _him_?!

It boggled his mind. He couldn't understand. He simply could not understand. And in his confusion, the fear quickly roped around his heart like a snake. Squeezing it and injecting into it its deadly poison. Fear came to Naruto in waves now, threatening to drown him and submerge him forever. He was incredibly frightened of this feeling that sprouted from nowhere. This feeling that was so alluring and mystifying like a glass rose. Like a glass rose whose beauty captures all, this feeling was also fragile. Far too fragile for its own good. He was afraid of such a feeling that he could crush with his clumsy grasp. He was afraid of the sharp fragments that promised pain. He was afraid of breaking this precious, glass rose. For once it broke...

His mind immediately conjured up images of a raging waterfall, the heavy scent of blood and sweat, and the immense pressure of the chakra saturated air, the chirping of the chidori, and taste of his salty tears as _his_ hand dove into his chest.

For once it broke...

"I'm so sorry, Sai."

...Someone always gets hurt.

Turning around, Naruto finally got his legs working. If only they had worked five minutes ago. Nevertheless, Naruto urged his legs to move faster. It was almost as if running fast enough would help him escape the guilt, the broken look Sai had given him, and the ridiculous pain. Unbeknownst to him, in his wake, lying forgotten on that trash heaped alley floor, is a lone topaz jewel. The second stone to fall. Its glittering beauty standing as a testament to the blonde's cursed life.

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**A/N: I want to take this time to say, I really am truly grateful to all my readers. Thank you for the appreciation. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my story. I love you all!! **


	12. The Revelation

A/N: Please forgive for this horrendously late chapter. But I can explain. First off, I was going to go on vacation to my home country so I tried to finish this chapter beforehand. Then I realized it sucked, but there was no time to redo it before I went on vacation. So guess what? I did this in my home country where the Internet sucks, bad connection and all that. So, be warned. THIS IS NOT EDITED!! So, you can bitch about all kinds of grammar mistakes and how awful it is in your reviews. Much thanks, love you all reviewers, once again apologizing for the lateness and possible suckiness.

To raziel: Please do not think that you have offended me. I thrive on the criticism that you have taken the time and effort to give me. Well, what can I say; they're not really in love. I'm not proud of their OOC-ness, mind you, but I hope to justify Kakashi and Gai's actions soon.

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"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, please! Wait!"

Sakura's pleas were pathetic, at least in Sasuke's ears. She sounded so fearful, so desperate. Had she no dignity? She was a kunoichi of the Leaf Village for heaven's sake! Not some starving, nameless beggar hunting for scarps of food. She didn't even have anything to be so desperate about! He was fine! Completely. Right?

'_Did I ever have a chance to begin with?'_

What was that all about? A chance with what? Sasuke was so close to pulling his hair out. Well, he should've been. All these questions would have frustrated him a long time ago. He hated being so clueless. But of course, he wouldn't have looked it. He was an Uchiha. He had a reputation to uphold. A reputation that required wearing an apathetic mask in public. No matter what kind of metaphorical storm went on inside him.

But for once, he felt exactly like his mask. Numb. Totally numb. Irritation. Anger. Perhaps even pain. All of it escaped the clutches of his heart. In retrospect, maybe Sasuke lost his heart. That would explain a few things, like the hollow sensation in his chest. Or that dull, throbbing ache.

Sasuke sighed, combing his hand through his neatly arranged hair. He shouldn't be feeling this. He shouldn't be confused. But he was… Is. He is confused. He is feeling numb. He is feeling like something had just gone horribly, horribly wrong.

But it still didn't make sense! It just didn't make sense! There was no significant reason for these emotions. There was no logical explanation. He just couldn't understand it!

Does he want to?

"Aargh!"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sasuke absentmindedly boarded the elevator. His stomach mimicked the sinking motion as he headed down to the lobby. His head was spinning, his thoughts a cluttered mess. And from the chaos, rose the echoes of words recently said. With bright, cerulean eyes that flashed red in frustration. With a whiskered face contorted into an obvious snarl.

A wave of pure nausea hit him like a punch in the gut as his mind reeled over the sudden revelation. That's right. Naruto started all this. Everything was perfectly fine until Naruto opened his big mouth. Saying those cursed words that… Shouldn't have affected him in any way.

The elevator 'dinged'. The doors sliding open as Sasuke stumbled out. His confusion had turned into a headache, which accompanied his stomach churning, and they both created a symphony of discomfort for the Uchiha. All in all, he wasn't feeling so good right now.

A young nurse, previously talking to a patient, noticed Sasuke staggering about. She took in his apparent sickly features and courageously approached him.

"Uchiha-san? You look awfully green. Perhaps you should sit down…Or better yet, go to the restroom." She stated, trying to guide him to a seat.

But Sasuke batted away her gentle hands like one would do to an annoying fly. He held his head high, gathering all his composure and self-discipline, and strode out the hospital's doorway. Calm, cool, and collected. He was an Uchiha after all. Uchihas never show weakness or seek medical attention for such petty things. Like this motion sickness Sasuke assumed he was having. Why? Because he had a reputation to uphold.

As soon as he stepped out however, Sasuke breathed in a lungful of fresh air and ducked into the nearest available alley. There, he promptly… Threw up. In the obscurity of the darkness, away from the public eye, the proud Uchiha hacked up his regurgitated lunch. All because of one foolish, moronic blond.

Why?

Naruto was just his best friend. Nothing more. Right? So he was straight. Their relationship wouldn't change because of that. Right? It wasn't as if he was-he was…

"I'm not in love with Naruto, am I?" Sasuke whispered hoarsely, wiping the remnants of vomit from his mouth.

'_No. Of course not. Don't be ridiculous.'_

With that, Sasuke nodded to himself and stood up. That's right. It was pretty ridiculous to think that.

'I mean the only reason why I'm standing ankle deep in trash in a smelly alleyway, not to mention with a pool of my puke right in front of me, is because I got sick. Motion sickness. From riding the elevator.'

Yes, the fact that he never had motion sickness before and the fact that his best friend just made a concrete confession a few minutes ago, didn't register in Sasuke's brain. No, why should it?

'_Really. Me? In love? With Naruto? Laughable.'_

Fully convinced, Sasuke turned around and moved to duck back into civilization. Still chortling at himself for that idiotic notion.

"…you're one of those perverts! The one that-that want to pin me down and-and f-f-fuck me raw!""

Sasuke's ears twitched, his trained shinobi hearing catching every word. That sounded like Naruto. Well, speak of the devil. 'One of those perverts! The one that want to pin me down and fuck me raw!'? Perfect. Another one of those lechers the dobe kept finding. Really does he ever learn?

"Better go save that usurantonkachi." Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes.

Turning around, he strode back into the alley. His steps were quick and silent, just like any other chuunin of his level. Except for Naruto. That moron's nature, loud and abrasive, practically forbidden him from being stealthy.

"That's probably what got him into this mess in the first place." Sasuke muttered with a fond smile on his face.

He always did finish reconnaissance missions smoother than Naruto. Though that didn't say the same for all the other missions. As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto was a shinobi worthy of being his rival. A shinobi, who despite his idiocy, was very capable of matching him at almost every turn. That included fighting. Naruto may not have been the most graceful or refined fighter but he made up with his determination and raw strength.

So why was he was going to save him again?

Naruto was capable of tying with him. That should be enough to fight away any pervert. He didn't need Sasuke to save him. Right?

Pausing in his step, Sasuke about-faced, feeling incredibly foolish. Even though he knew Naruto didn't need any help, he still turned around with the intention of saving him. What was that all about?

''_What if, what if I really am in love with Naruto?'_

Sasuke's fist tightened, a low breath escaping from his lips. He took a step forward but immediately placed that same foot behind him. He twisted his body a full 180 degrees and faced the other end of the alley.

The other end of the alley was enshrouded in ominous darkness. The overhead lighting, generously placed there by order of the Godaime, was broken. Probably used for target practice by drunken nin folk. And with the sun setting, the twilight shadows, if possible, turned the other end of the alley blacker than a black hole. Now Sasuke would never admit it but right at that moment, that dark abyss was more intimidating than having Itachi for an opponent.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Sasuke propelled himself towards where he last heard Naruto. He wasn't sure of his feelings right now. He was sure that he wasn't sure. That doubt had settled in his heart like a flesh-eating parasite and that the possibility of his being in love was, as a matter of fact, too high for him to ignore. He was also sure that love or not, he couldn't turn around and leave Naruto with a pervert. Doesn't matter if Naruto could fight back. Sasuke couldn't rest as long as there is a very real possibility Naruto could get hurt.

"E-E-Even now it's h-happening…"

Sasuke could hear another voice this time. It was oddly familiar and at the same time close. He was almost there. He moved faster, a feeling of urgency renewed.

"…I believe the term is 'knots'."

Knots? Was the pervert thinking of tying Naruto up? Sasuke paused in his haste, just a second to wipe blood from his nose. The images of Naruto being all tied up flooded his brain. Curious, now why would he get a nosebleed from that? And why did that voice sound so damn familiar?!

Finally arriving at the other end of the alley, Sasuke watched a strikingly painful scene unfold before him. Naruto, dressed once again in his blindingly orange jumpsuit, stood frozen almost petrified. Shock was written all over his face while disbelief and fear shone clearly in his eyes. Standing opposite of him was Sai, who in his defense, looked as equally scared. Nervous would be a better word, the poor guy was visibly shaking. Had Sasuke not known any better, he would have thought Sai's legs were made of jelly or boneless.

"…She said I had to 'find out for myself'."

Sai reached into his pack. Sasuke tensed, he didn't really know Sai after all, but the other boy had merely taken out a scroll. A harmless little scroll with the character for love on it.

And it hit Sasuke, this was a love confession! How ironic. He felt relieved it was no pervert, well okay Sai was a pervert but not a pervert out to butt rape Naruto. The relief was soon followed by a surge of jealousy, however. The raging emotion overcame his being so suddenly that it took Sasuke several seconds to rein it back in. It was truly a wonder Sai hadn't been mauled.

Now that the fear of danger was confirmed unfounded, Sasuke decided it was high time he left. This was a private conversation after all, and obviously an important one as well. He shouldn't be eavesdropping. And the topic of love wasn't doing any much good to his composure. If he stayed, he didn't know if he could continue to hold down the puzzling creature of envy growling in his chest.

With as much silence as he had coming in, Sasuke moved to go back. His stealthy steps would've done Jiraiya proud.

"Is love this complete and total disregard for my own health because I am so obsessed with yours? How I feel so helpless whenever I can't comfort you?"

Sasuke froze, his mind steadily contemplating Sai's words. So he wasn't the only one huh? What is it about Naruto that made the both of them so protective over him? Nauto could handle himself and yet, here were two men who would willingly take a kunai for him. Why? Well, for Sai, it was obviously because he was in love. Did that go for Sasuke too?

Shaking his head, Sasuke growled. He shouldn't be contemplating these things, at least not here. Not in a smelly alleyway meters away from a clearly private conversation. He made to move away but the thoughts just kept bombarding him.

He wanted to protect Naruto because Naruto was his friend. He wanted to protect Naruto because he owed him as much, slapping some sense into him and all. He wanted to protect Naruto because… Because Naruto was really important to him. Because the thought of Naruto getting hurt was unbearable. Because… He couldn't imagine life without Naruto anymore.

"I need him." "I need you."

Sasuke jumped and realized with some frustration that he had barely moved. He sighed and gave up trying to leave. Something was obviously determined to keep him here, and he had high suspicions that the culprits were his own thoughts.

'Hn. So, I need Naruto eh? Well, that's still a little bit different from love, right?' Sasuke groaned, leaning against the dirty, brick wall. 'Oh, I don't know anymore.'

"If you think my feelings are produced by some odd enchantment you have inflicted upon you then you are wrong."

There went Sai again. Enchantment? That's right, Sakura told him about that while he was at the hospital. A magical bracelet that made every boy fall in love with you. Could it be Sasuke was under the spell as well?

"And I have not groped you or touched in a manner that you did not wish me to, like all the rest. I have not romanced you in such a way that embarrassed you. I'm different from all the rest…"

That should answer his question. Sasuke was also different from all the guys who literally threw themselves at Naruto, the ones under the spell. That, and he was an Uchiha. As if he would get caught in some cheap ass jutsu. Either way, he could scratch the thought of the bracelet manipulating him.

An awkward silence filled the air behind him. For one tense moment, Sasuke wondered if Naruto would accept Sai's confession.

"I'm sorry Sai." Came Naruto's broken voice, finally.

Sasuke exhaled the breath he subconsciously held. He really didn't want Naruto to love Sai back. Once again, was he in love perhaps?

Sasuke didn't have to hear Naruto's footsteps or sense Naruto's quickly fading chakra to know that the blond moron had fled. He had heard fear in Naruto's voice, something that doesn't happen very often. Sai must've really freaked Naruto out. Or placed him in a very uncomfortable position. This must be Naruto's first time turning somebody down.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke muttered, highly amused and happy this was Naruto's first hand at rejection.

"Uchiha-san?"

Startled, Sasuke bit back a yelp and threw Sai a dirty look. He had been so preoccupied with his musings that he had not sensed Sai's approach. Something was horribly, horribly wrong with him.

He refused to meet Sai's eyes as he turned to head back into the main street. His steps were fast, almost to a slow jog. To his dislike, Sai kept up with him, almost with ease.

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it." Sasuke mentally kicked himself for answering the question.

"Oh…"

They were almost at the end of the alley. It wasn't very long till Sasuke could rid himself of Sai. Possibly of this whole ordeal as well.

"Uchiha-san, if you don't mind me asking—"

"I do."

"—but why were you in the alley?"

Sasuke didn't need to justify that question with an answer. They were already at the exit. He was almost home free!

"Sasuke-kun! Sai!"

'Why God? Why?'

There, running towards them was Sakura. Probably with the intent of making the two them stay together longer. Oh, and he was so close.

Sakura stopped in front of them, bending over slightly to catch her breath. "Hey guys, good you're together. I have something important to—Sai! You're crying!"

Sasuke looked, for the first time, really looked at Sai. Sakura was right, he was crying. He looked worn down and terribly wounded, like a soldier after a particularly bloody battle.

Sai seemed to be shocked by Sakura's observation as he reached up to wipe his cheeks. Sure enough, there were teardrops on his fingertips. "Oh, so I am."

"What happened?" Sakura asked, immediately at his side.

"I told Naruto my feelings, Sakura-san." Sai stated, sounding proud, a fake smile on his lips.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Why? You did nothing wrong."

Sakura fixed him a reprimanding glare. Sai's fake smile was immediately wiped. It was replaced by a completely broken expression. Sobs began to shake his entire body as tears flowed freely from his eyes.

"It-It hurts Sakura-san. I don't know why, but it really hurts, right here…" Sai pointed to his chest.

Sakura embraced him tenderly, unable to do any much more. But if anything, it made Sai cry harder. Sasuke, uncomfortable at seeing someone cry, looked away. The image of Sai's heartbroken being forever etched in his mind.

'_That could be me.' _

"It's…going to be alright…" Sakura whispered sweetly, but even in her own ears it sounded unsure.

'_But I won't let it. I have to distance myself from Naruto. I need to get a girlfriend.'_


	13. The Visits

**A/N: Hey. So, here's another chapter. Quite long. At least I hope you think it's long. Either way, buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride!**

**Warning: Unbeta'd**

* * *

Naruto didn't know why rejecting Sai affected him so much. Was it the guilt perhaps? He, himself, had been rejected quite a few times in his life. He knew very well the pain of being turned down. Yes, perhaps it was the guilt. Still, if it was so, why was he crying?

The tears started innocently enough. He was heading home, full speed, right after his conversation with Sai. At first he thought it was just the wind, the chilly, twilight breeze that caused him to tear up. But then, the tears grew in number, far more than the amount needed to combat irritation. The tears spilled down his cheeks and blurred his eyesight.

Lucky enough for him, he arrived home without the slightest incident. Despite barely being able to see. As soon as he closed the door behind him however, his knees gave under him and he collapsed. A shaky sob emitting from his lips as the tears continued to pour. He hiccupped slightly, trying to wipe away the tears but to no avail.

Guilt, alone, could not cause such a reaction. The crying, the sobbing. It had to be something else. Perhaps he was crying because the stress of the day finally caught up with him. It had been such a tiring, tiring day. All that emotional, physical, and mental trauma is simply too much for a twenty-four hour period. Simply put, he was exhausted.

Yes, that might be the reason. Perhaps Sai and his confession, other than being another stress factor, had nothing to do with the tears. Nothing.

Staggering up from his position on the floor, Naruto stumbled to his bedroom. His clumsiness multiplied ten-fold as several items were bumped to the floor. Eventually though, he made it to his bed. The warm, though messy sheets (he had forgotten to make his bed), looked so inviting that he simply collapsed on it. His legs no longer capable of functioning.

"Today was crap." Naruto stated, his voice muffled by the ever creaking mattress. "At least it's over."

The exhaustion settling heavily unto his bones, Naruto curled into a ball. His blankets cocooning him, safe and snug. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes for long, deep sleep. Or at least his thought. His mind had other plans. The gears in his head refused to stay still. Image after image were summoned to the forefront of his consciousness. All more painful than the last.

"ARGH! Goddamnit! Let me go to sleep!" Pulling the pillow over his head, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. He willed to fall into a rejuvinating slumber but his brain just would not quit. Scenes from Sai's confession kept haunting him, while the ghosts of the past broke free from their graves. The memories better left forgotten, returned. Every action, every spoken word, every single, godforsaken second from _that_ fight came rushing back. It was as if a dam broke, and everything he had worked so hard to keep at bay had flooded out.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, Naruto sat up. He felt antsy, and regardless of his body's screaming pleas for rest, he needed to do something or he would go insane. Usually, when he felt such an urge to preoccupy himself, he would go train. But going down to the training grounds would meant he would risk seeing _him_. Which, in his opinion, was definately not a meeting he would like at the moment.

If he could not go training, perhaps he should take a stroll around Konoha. The idea seemed pretty good and Naruto was all set and ready to go when he remembered the last time he went out in public. The admirers. The corny pick-up lines (honestly, who would fall for those?). The fight. Needless to say, Naruto wasn't all to keen on going out anymore.

Out of options and soon to be out of his mind, Naruto looked around his room. It was homey and small and really quite cozy. Admittedly, a bit disorganized but nothing a little cleaning could fix. With a heavy groan, he slowly stood up and reluctantly picked up the mess he left behind that morning. The closet's mini avalanche left quite mountain of clothes. Now normally, Naruto would hang himself before cleaning but, well, obviously this wasn't a normal time.

As he finished up his cleaning, Naruto's stomach growled. He realized, much to his shock, that he had not eaten anything. At all. For the entire day. This needed to be immediately remedied so he phoned Ichiraku (the phone was a gift from Iruka, something about getting in touch more), and asked for a delivery. He didn't dare risk stepping out of his apartment. He specifically requested that Ayame be the one to deliver it, lest he open the door and find grabby hands with demands for kisses as tips.

The ramen came soon, but not soon enough, and Naruto graciously paid and thanked Ayame. He ate a heartily, devouring five bowls. He would've liked to eat more but alas, Ayame could only carry so much. In any case, his stomach was filled and the fatigue was slowly settling on his body again. He wished for nothing more than to curl up in bed, which he did, with speed that would've made the Yondaime proud.

Now that he was inhumanly tired, there was no way he wouldn't be able to sleep! Bzzt. Wrong. As soon as his head hit the pillow, the images revisited him again, leaving not a moment's peace. He sighed. Okay, perhaps there was more to Sai's confession than being a stress factor. How infuriating.

"You have got to be kidding me!!" Naruto shouted, sitting up. Pressing his forefingers into his temples, he slowly massaged his head. He silently contemplated this complex conundrum he had unwittingly landed himself into. As he pondered, a part of his mind couldn't help but place the blame on a certain entity.

Cerrulean eyes snapped open, immediately focusing unto the cursed bracelet upon his wrist. He tugged at it in a slight frenzy of desperation and agony. All of the day's events just seemed to press down upon him, urging him to break away from the jewelry. From the rightful cause of all the commotion. From the source of not only his pain, but now Sai's as well. Naruto wasn't going to lie to himself, he wanted revenge as well. He wanted to crush those precious stones until they were nothing but glittering dust. He wanted payback for awakening his long-forgotten, and firmly repressed memories of a feeling, a scorching emotion...a wish that could never be.

"If you hadn't come into my life! If you hadn't appeared! If you had just-just-!"

His words died, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. There was no use in shouting at an accesory, Naruto had to confront the source. He needed to talk to the ghost possesing the bracelet. That Sato Megumi.

Naruto relaxed his tense posture, crossing his legs and bringing his hands to form the ram seal. He focused on his breathing, letting himself feel his lungs expand and contract. Easily enough, he could feel his chakra begin to settle into its comatose-like state. Frozen in his pathways, dormant until Naruto brought himself from his realm of meditation.

Darkness, the sensation of falling, and then that familiar watery splash. Naruto was once again succesful at breaching into the world of his prisoner. Quickly standing up, he ran towards Kyuubi's chamber. Fully intent on giving that ghost a piece of his mind. With his determined speed, he was able to reach the cage faster than normal, and he was not disappointed.

The ghost still floated above the water, lower now however. A notieable change had spread across her features. Intsead of being completely white and somewhat formless, the ghost now had hints of color and of a more humanoid shape. Streaks of ebony-black ran down the length of her incredibly long hair, a startling shade of cobalt-blue sat at the edge of her irises, and her frame held a sort of fragility about it like a delicate spring flower.

These changes seemed ominous, it meant something bad was afoot. At least for Naruto. Something told him, he didn't want to see the ghost in technicolor or worse, looking like the woman she once was. Nevertheless, despite the first wave of fear overcame him upon seeing the ghost again, Naruto summoned up the last vestiges of dignity and idiotic bravery he never seemed to run out of. Ignoring the curled up Kyuubi in the cage, he shouted,

"Hey you! Ghost! This is all your fault, yours and that stupid jutsu of yours! I hate you Sato Megumi!"

The name seemed to send a jolt through the phantom's body. She shuddered for a bit before taking her eyes off the far-off distance in the darkness of Kyuubi's cage. Her stare landed on Naruto and immediately, Naruto felt like he was choking on his own foot. Again.

_"S-S-Sa-a-t-to M-Me-g-gu-m-m-mi-i?"_

Her voice was rough and hoarse. It must gave been ages since the phantom had spoken to someone or spoken in general. That must've been incredibly lonely. Naruto could feel his damned compassionate heart going out to her. He swallowed, holding his ground in an effort to stay mad. He had to be empathetic to a fault didn't he?

"Th-that is you're name right?"

The phantom slowly shook her head, the beginnings of a smile forming on her lips. The slight actions seemed to pain her though, as if it drained all her energy.

That little smile was all Naruto's anger needed to rekindle its flames. Naruto could feel all his negative emotions bursting through his chest and headed out his mouth.

"Who cares what the hell people called you?! You're a goddamn bitch you know that?! You are ruining my life and everyone else's! Look what've you've done to poor Sai! I hate you!"

_"Ah-uh-I d-d-did n-not h-hu-r-rt y-yo-ur f-f-fri-end. Y-You di-di-d. Y-You t-tu-tu-r-rn-ed h-him d-d-dow-n-n."_

Naruto recoiled as if slapped. "Well, if you hadn't forced him to confess, he wouldn't have to have his heartbroken until he was damn well ready. Or at least moved on! And what about me huh? Did you think I wanted to hurt him? He's my friend! Never would I dream of hurting my precious people! And-And worst of all you...you!"

He paused for a breath. His mind supplying images decribing the words he would've spoken next. He could remember it in crystal-clear clarity the hurt, betrayal, and the shattering of his soul.

"You made me remember." He whispered so brokenly. "I hate you! I despise you! I loathe you with all of my being! Why don't you just move on and leave me the hell alone!"

The ghost seemed to take pity on him. Her expression seemed disheartened and her shoulders sagged with the weight of her remorse and guilt. Vanishing from her post in a swirl of white light, she reappeared right in front of Naruto, merely inches away.

_"I-I a-a-am-m s-ss-so-o-r-rr-y." _She managed to mutter out and before he could protest, she jabbed her index finger at Naruto's forehead. As Naruto disappeared, she whispered. _"Y-Y-You w-wil-l u-un-d-der-s-ss-st-a-a-nd s-s-sso-o-n."_

When Naruto was completely gone, the phantom hastily returned to her usual spot. She waved her right arm in front of her horizontally, creating an arc of pure gold chakra that smashed at the bars of the cage. It effectively woke the "slumbering" eavesdropping Kyuubi.

**_"What the hell, you pathetic human! I was trying to sleep!" _**Kyuubi roared. **_"Lousy ingrate..."_**

Out of breath, from the stunt she pulled with her chakra, the ghost nonetheless answered. _"I-I-I n-n-ne-e-d-d t-to a-a-as-k a f-f-ff-fa-a-v-v-or."_

**_"And why should I, the great and powerful Kyuubi no youko, do a favor for one as lowly as yourself?"_**

_"Y-Y-Yo-ou w-ww-wa-an-nt-t t-t-to l-l-li-iv-e, d-d-do y-y-yo-ou n-n-no-ot?"_

This definately caught the Kyuubi's interest though he did not show it. **_"Continue." _**

The ghost smiled mischeviously.

* * *

Startled out of his meditation, Naruto found himself once again on his still unmade bed. His body wasn't as sore as before and for that Naruto was thankful. At least something was going right!

"Damnit!" Naruto cursed, hitting the nearby wall. "Well that was a shitload of help!"

Flopping back down on his bed, Naruto continued to fume, though silently. He pulled his pillow from under his head and wrapped his arms around it. He always used to do this when he was small, especially when he was upset about something. It always made him feel better to hug something. When he was younger, he used to pretend it was his mommy or his daddy he was hugging. Naruto groaned, pushing those thoughts away. He was already depressed, no need to go lamenting at his sorrowful past. Shaking his head, he began to search the room for something to distract himself with.

From his position on the bed, he could see every thing in the room. His bed was strategically pushed as close to the northern most wall, right under the only window his bedroom had. It sat across from his bulging, built-in closet and diagonally away from the door. In that way, should anyone come in, in either of those entry points, they would immediately be in his line of his sight. A little ways close to the door was a medium-size oak dresser. It held all his underwear in the first drawer, all his ninja tools in the second, and locked up in a neat little midnight-blue box was the Icha-Icha series and several other momentos in the third. On top of the dresser was a vase filled with flowers, newly watered and vibrant with life. It was nice little splash of color in his otherwise rather plain room. The only other source of color was...

His team 7 photograph.

It sat on his headboard, polished and dust-free. It stuck out like a sore thumb against the pale green walls of his room, and the dark-brown color of his furniture and floor. One thing Naruto liked about was, it was the only thing in his room that never changed. He could paint his walls orange, and he desperately wanted to, and remodel his room, but that picture will always be the same. It was a frozen moment in time when Kakashi was still that awkward sort-of teacher that secretly didn't know how to deal with a dead-last, an avenger, and a fangirl, when Sakura was still that fangirl, when Sasuke was still that avenger, and when Naruto was still that class clown. It was also that moment in time when everything was normal between the three of them. He and Sasuke had that hesitant friendship, he would have that crush on Sakura, and Sakura would have a crush on Sasuke.

But now...

Everything had just gone straight to hell. He didn't love Sakura anymore, Sakura didn't love Sasuke anymore, and Sasuke and him weren't that...Their friendship, as much as he hated to say this, had gotten strained over the years. And it hurt. He wanted to have that brotherly bond between him and Sasuke again. At the same time, he didn't want that as well. To be nothing but a brother to Sasuke seemed like such a horrible prospect...

A sharp knock on his front door, jolted Naruto from his reverie. He immediately tensed, reaching for his kunai pouch before realizing he had left it at the hospital. The knock sounded again, causing more anxiety to creep into Naruto's chest. Leaping off his bed, he lunged for his dresser, speedily opening the second drawer and fishing out a kunai. He quickly felt safer now that he was armed and headed out into the entry way.

Four rapid knocks rang throughout the eerily silent apartment, whoever was behind the door was quickly becoming impatient. Naruto toyed with the idea of letting the surprise visitor stay there for the entire night but thought against it. If it was one of his newly-acquired, rabid fanboys, they really might stay there the entire night. Knocking and knocking. Naruto felt a shiver run up and down his spine. He quickened his pace, placing the kunai defensively in front of him as he threw open the door.

Sunlight flooded into the room along with the realization that it was morning once again. Had he really meditated the night away? It didn't feel like it. Shaking his head, Naruto pushed away such frivolous thoughts and squinted at the visitor.

"Yeah? What do you want?"

"Woah! Woah! It's only me, Naruto!"

He recognized that voice. "Iruka-sensei?"

Stepping into the dimly lit entry way of Naruto's apartment was none other than Iruka himself. He smiled warmly at his ex-student, and not one of those flirty smiles but one of those genuine ones that a brother would give to his younger sibling.

"It's nice to see you again, even if you don't think so. You can drop your gaurd now."

"You mean you're not going to molest me or tell me corny pick-up lines??"

Iruka blanched. "Dear god, whatever gave you that idea?! That's like...Molesting my little sibling! (1)"

Naruto grimaced, horrified by the prospect as well, but refused to relax. "Even so, who's to say that if I turn around right now, you won't rape my 'vulnerable' ass."

Iruka's face turned a horrid shade of puce. Naruto could see that thick vein on his forehead throb menacingly. Instictively, he took a step back. A reflex he acquired from the many verbal slaughters (for they were too frightening to be verbal beatings), that resulted from countless,'flawlessly', executed pranks.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO, I THOUGHT YOU KNEW ME BETTER THAN THAT!! How can you possibly assume that after all those years of my treating you to ramen, thar I am YOUR fanboy?! When in the world did I give you the idea that I LIKED you that way?! Cause let me tell you right now, I DON'T!!"

Naruto rubbed his sore ears, scowling rather irritatedly. "Yeah, alright. I got it, Iruka-sensei."

"You better." The chuunin huffed, crossing his arms and nodding to himself.

"No worries, you're acting way different than my admirers anyways. IF you WERE, I'm not saying that you are, you would already be on my case about a date or something." Naruto turned around and walked further into his apartment. "Close the door and lock it, okay?"

Taking that as a sign to enter, Iruka happily strode inside. He dutifully closed the door and placed the appropriate security methods before following his blond ex-student. The two entered the rather small dining area, and in a wordless conversation, they established Iruka would make drinks while Naruto settled himself into a chair. As Iruka hurried off into the kitchen that lay to the left of the dining area, he began to make small talk. It was instinctive as Naruto stepping back from Iruka's rampages. He knew Naruto absolutely loathed silence.

"I mean, I knew your fanboys liked you a lot, Naruto." He started. "But I never knew they would become this bold."

"Say what?" Naruto asked absent-mindedly, his attention focused on the window that lay opposite of him. Since he was still pretty groggy, his attention-span had dwindled, if that was possible, to such a degree that small diversions like the butterfly fluttering right outside the window or the vague painting to his right caught all of his focus. However, Iruka's sentence finally made way into his brain and he immediately straightened. "You mean I had fanboys before I had the bracelet?!"

Iruka came back, his hands occupied by two staming mugs of hot cocoa. It wasn't a particularly hot day but neither was it particularly cold. A little windy, Iruka admitted, with signs of another storm in the eastern horizon. But whether or not a hot chocolate drink was necessary, he knew when it was needed. And right now, he would have to say he was looking at the prime example of a person who needed that burst of sugary heaven. Taking a seat in front of the window, Iruka handed a cup to Naruto who gratefully accepted it.

"Now, what's this I hear about a bracelet?"

It had been ages since Naruto has experienced the euphoric wonder of Iruka-sensei's heavenly cocoa beverage. He was immediately lost in its orgasmic flavor and under its spell, he spilled his guts out to Iruka. He told him every single miserable event that happened in his, eloquently put, 'fucked' up life. He told him about the curse, of how it all began and of his first encounter with it. And even in his slightly delusional state, he took notice of how Iruka stiffened when he mentioned Kakashi's behaviour. He told of the mob fight, the ghost, the assasin, and most importantly, he told him about Sai. He could feel tears making their way into his eyes again but he stubbornly pushed them away.

"I see." Iruka hummed thoughtfully. "That's...Well, quite frankly, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry if I sound insensitive but that is quite the bind you've gotten yourself into."

"Ishn't it shhough? Naruto slurred out, drunk on the cocoa.

"It does explain a lot, however, like the scene out of a war I saw in the Market area." Iruka sighed, rubbing his forehead bare of the usual head protector. "If there's anyway I can help, a safehouse from all your fans or if you just need to sort out your feelings, I would be more than glad to assist."

Naruto smiled, sobering from the sheer sincerity and kindness that was purely Iruka. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. You already helped a lot. I got a lot off my chest by talking to you."

"That's good." Iruka smiled back. "You were looking so awful back there."

"Thanks. That was some encouragement right there."

The two continued to grin at each other, sitting in companionable silence. The only sound was the quiet ticking of the clock above Iruka's head and the lulling slurps as they downed their drinks. It was all too soon broken, unfortunately, by the mounting curiousity of Naruto. He peered inquisitively at Iruka, setting down his cup.

"Y'know, I've been wondering." Naruto began. "How come you aren't affected? You're acting like yourself, even around the curse."

"Oh, me?" Iruka rubbed the back of his head, blushing rather fantastically. "I guess, it's suppose, like your friend Sai. I already like someone..."

"OH MY GOD! YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH ME FROM THE START?!" Naruto shouted, standing up.

Iruka stood up too, only to whack Naruto upside the head. "IDIOT!! What part of 'I DON'T LIKE YOU THAT WAY', do you not understand?!"

"OW! Geez, you don't have to hit so hard..." Naruto grumbled. "So, you mean you like someone else?"

"You make it sound like I can't like someone."

"No, I'm just really weirded out, I mean I've never even seen you date before."

"I've never found someone that caught my interest is all."

"So..." Naruto grinned that sly grin of his. It hinted of his mischevious nature and that trickery was afoot. "Who _did _catch your interest?"

"That is a very personal question." Iruka retorted, crossing his arms.

"You're just saying that cause you think it's embarassing..." Naruto pouted, sitting back down again.

"There is nothing wrong with loving someone."

"But there obviously is if you are not willing to tell me. _Me!_"

Iruka heaved a tired sigh and sat back down himself. He swished the cocoa in his cup for several moments, all the while staring intently at the table. His brow furrowed in the obvious attempt to come up with an appropriate response, while his free hand, not occupied with the beverage, wandered around his head.

A tense silence quite different from the previous one fell upon them as Naruto patiently waited for Iruka's response. Finally, just as Naruto's patience wore thin, Iruka looked up at him. His former sensei looked at him directly in the eye and the blond saw the strangest thing.

It was brief, almost to the point that Naruto thought he imagined it but even his imagination wasn't that wild. Whatever it was, he saw in the warm, brown eyes of Iruka's. It looked like a slideshow of all the different things running through Iruka's head at the moment. The most prominent image was that of his sensei, Kakashi.

"It's not that you aren't privy to the information, Naruto." Iruka spoke softly. "It's just that I'm trying to sort this out myself, okay?"

Naruto nodded slowly, trying to digest the words and what he just saw. Or thought he saw. Either way, Iruka-sensei seemed awfully troubled by it and he automatically felt the need to cheer the man up.

He smiled that signature smile of his. "Yeah, okay. I'm here if you need me too, just so you know."

And Iruka couldn't help but smile back as well.

A sharp knock at his front door interrupted their bonding moment as Sakura's voice floated into the kitchen. Naruto quickly stood up and hurried to his entry way for the second time that day. He sure was getting a lot of visitors. This time he wasn't as cautious because he could recognize Sakura's voice under any circumstances, even if he had amnesia. Throwing open the door before Sakura threw a fit, Naruto greeted his new guest. Er...Guest_s_.

"Oh, hello Sakura-chan, Fuzzy brows. What are you doing here?"

"No time for pleasantries. Tsunade-shishou decided that due to the mob fight yesterday, she needed to straighten out all the facts about the bracelet. That way, she can determine what an appropriate action can be taken." Sakura stated, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Okay, so _you're _here to pick me up right?" Naruto confirmed.

"Yes." She replied tersely.

"But what is _he _doing here?" Naruto stared pointedly at Lee.

Lee took that as his cue. He pumped up his fist, fire burning fiercely in his eyes. "Good morning, Naruto-kun! Isn't it such a glorious day to be in our springtime of youth?!"

Sakura shook her head, groaning experatedly. "He insisted on accompanying me here. Besides, he's on his way to the Hokage tower as well. Sorry."

"Fear not my precious flower! For no devious curse will ever break the passionate bonds of our love!" Lee shouted.

Sakura blushed a pretty red causing her to hide her face in her hands. And Naruto couldn't help it, he laughed. It was a bitter, dry sort of laugh not meant for teasing. It was a laugh filled with jealousy for Naruto couldn't help but turn green at the sight of such a...Perfect couple. Not when his own love life was D.O.A.

"Ah well, I'm sure the Hokage is getting pretty impatient." Iruka voiced out from behind Naruto. Hearing the commotion at the front door, he grew curious and investigated. He was happy to see that there was no trouble, and was also pleased to see his old students again.

"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, somewhat shocked and belwidered. She felt rather thrown off that she had never sensed him. Once the shock wore off though, she smiled pleasantly in response to the perpetual grin Iruka always seemed to have.

Iruka chuckled nervously. "Well, you see, I was hearing some pretty strange rumors about Naruto here and decided to check it out for myself."

"The mob fight huh?"

"Yes, actually. But nevermind me, you kids better get going!" Iruka advised, making shooing motions with his hands.

"Ah! You're right! We better get a move on!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Naruto-kun, shall we race to the Hokage tower? The record still stands at 49-49." Lee challenged predictably.

"Sure." Naruto nodded eagerly. He turned to Iruka, sending him a questioning glance.

Iruka rolled his eyes in reply. "Go ahead, Naruto. I'll lock up."

Naruto beamed and turned back to Lee. "You're on!"

"Yes! Let us display our burning prowess in this explosion of youth! The loser must complete 500 laps around the village..." Lee paused to think of an appropriate dare."...On-On his hands!"

"Wait-!" Naruto protested.

"Ready!"

"500?!"

"Set!"

"On my hands?!"

"Go!!"

Despite his previous complaints, Naruto took off with Lee as they raced to the Hokage Tower. Soon, they were merely dots in the horizon.

Sakura's eye twitched before shrugging. "Boys." She gazed over her shoulder, waving slightly. "It was nice seeing you again, Iruka-sensei."

"Same here." Iruka replied, watching as Sakura ran off as well. He hollered after her. "Drop by the Academy sometime!"

Unfortunately, Sakura was already too far away to hear him. She wasn't as fast as the boys, but she was still able to cover a lot of ground between her and Iruka in span of seconds.

Seeing that there would be no response, Iruka merely looked to the heavens and breathed in deeply, before he locking up the house with his own copy of Naruto's apartment key. With nothing left to do, Iruka left as well.

* * *

When Lee and Naruto arrived at the tower, Naruto was oddly out of breath. The Hokage tower wasn't all that far from the apartment and even if they did sprint, the blond shouldn't have gotten this winded. The truth of the matter however, was that he was. The proff was in his heaving gasps. What's more, he _looked_ dead tired.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun? Would you like Sakura-chan to take a look at you?" Lee fussed, hovering over him as he didn't know what else to do. "You do not have to run the laps if you are not able to."

Naruto waved a hand as if to banish the thought. He smirked cheekily at Lee. "What are you talking about Fuzzy Brows?" He wheezed out. "I came first."

"You are being delusional Naruto-kun." Lee replied in indignidation. "It is quite obvious that I came first."

"What?! No, you're the one hallucinating!! Didn't you see how far I was ahead?!"

"I am afraid you are mistaken."

"Mistaken my a--!"

"Naruto! Lee!" Sakura's piercing yell broke through their argument while her fists broke through both of their skulls. "Quit fooling around! Tsunade-shishou is highly irritable in the morning."

"Yes, ma'am." The two chorused, nursing their bruised heads.

Sakura only sniffed in disdain, raising her pert nose in the air as she strolled down the pathway to the entrance. The two boys followed warily after her, highly aware of her no-nonsense vibe. When they entered the tower, they were greeted by an oddly empty lobby. It was only mere moments since dawn and the only occupants of the entire building were the shinobi on patrol. There wasn't even a receptionist in sight, and for that Naruto was grateful.

Although the Anbu gaurds leered at Naruto strangely, inching forward as if to lunge at him, before either of them could make a move, Naruto pushed pass them irritably and headed inside. Sakura followed after but paused at the doorway when she realized Lee had lingered behind.

"This what I believe to be a private matter between you and Naruto-kun." Lee explained. "I am obviously not affected by the curse, so therefore, this does not concern me."

Sakura smiled in understanding. "Alright. Are you gonna be okay waiting out here?"

"Worry not my precious flower, I am quite sure that Gai-sensei and my teammates are heading for the tower as we speak. I will not be waiting long."

"If you say so." Sakura shrugged, taking a few steps toward him and giving him a peck on the cheek. Giggling coyly, she turned around and entered the office, leaving a stunned Lee behind.

The sight that met her eyes wasn't a pretty one. Lying unconcious on her paperwork ladden desk, was Tsunade. The smell of alcohol rolling off her in waves. She was not too quietly snoring , adjusting her position now and again causing few documents to fall.

Naruto being far too experienced at receiving the end of Tsunade's fist, was far too scared to wake her. Even if he didn't admit he was. Thus the job fell on Sakura's shoulders, her being Tsunade's apprentice after all. She shot Naruto a glare and tentatively shook the woman's shoulder, smoothly avoiding the paperweight Tsunade threw at her. Another benefit to the gruesome dodge training the Hokage put her through.

"Tsunade-shishou. Tsunade-shishou! Naruto is here! Just like you asked!" She half-yelled.

Tsunade groaned, sounding like a wounded animal. She slowly lifted her head, revealing the right mess she was in. Her ponytails had come loose, stray strands falling every which way. Her eyes were puffy and red with dark bags beneath them. A spittle of drool leaked from the corner of her mouth, completing her disheveled appearance.

All in all, she looked a zombie freshly dug from the earth.

"Wazzuh...huh?" She mumbled tiredly, looking wildly around the room. Finally, her eyes landed on Naruto and blue met hazel.

In an instant reaction that lasted for less than a second, making him wonder if he was imagining things again, Naruto saw in Tsunade's eyes the reason for her exhaustion. A slideshow of images that ranged from the council and even, he flinched at this, himself flashed through her eyes. He could also see the worry lurking in those hazel depths, and a smidge of fear that constantly appeared then disappeared.

"Oh, it's you. Great." Tsunade didn't seem all too happy at the interruption of her nap. Naruto couldn't blame her. He knew the woman had not slept in ages.

"Shishou, you asked me to retrieve him remember?" Sakura spoke up. "You told me we need to gather all information about the curse before it could do further damage."

"Oh yeah...Right." Tsunade absent-mindedly replied, focusing more on organizing her workspace.

Sakura frowned at the lack of attention but helped picked up a few fallen reports anyways. She handed it to Tsunade, and since the Hokage wasn't doing a good job of it, she took it upon herself to arrange the entire desk as well.

"Thank you, Sakura." Tsunade cleared her throat. "Now, let's see. Oh right. That bracelet of yours. Tell me about it."

"Can you be a little more specific, baa-chan?" Naruto retorted, placing his forearms behind his head.

"Don't call me, 'baa-chan' you disrespectful twerp! And just observations you know? Of how the curse works."

"Like how, when you leave a male's range of sight, the curse wears off and said male has no recollection of his actions while under the enchantment." Sakura piped up.

Tsunade turned to her, a look of surpriseon her face. "Oh really?"

"Yup. And Naruto must be in the male's range of sight for the curse to take effect."

"Interesting. Anymore?"

"Oh! When I punched the assasin in the face when he was molesting at me, he snapped out of it and got back to work at killing me!" Naruto broke in.

"Pain's a temporary counter-curse huh?"

"Yeah, and the curse doesn't affect all males. Apparently those that are already in love with someone, like Fuzzy Eyebrows, or was already...already in love with me to begin with, cannot be affected."

"I see. Very interesting. That makes sense since the merchant, who was already in love, did not fall victim to the bracelet. Anything else?"

"I visited the phantom again. She has more color. Before, she was pure white. Now, she has black streaks in her hair and her eyes aren't as gold anymore. She can also talk. Baa-chan, I think she's becoming more alive."

The room was filled with a sudden chill that settled deep within their bones. Worry and dread saturated the air, the room occupants shfting uncomfortably at this new revelation.

"And?" Tsunade pressed, ignoring the fear rolling in her gut.

"And what?" Naruto replied, blankly.

"Have you noticed anything wrong about yourself? Are you feeling sick?" Sakura inquired, before Tsunade could ask. She was afraid too. Afraid for Naruto and scared of the thought of losing him.

"I don't know. I think...I think it just takes a whole lot more effort for me to do things right now. The run from my apartmetn to here left me breathless."

Tsunade hummed in contemplation. "Then, I guess you don't need me telling you that your situation isn't all too good now, do you?"

"Definately not."

"Well, I've made a few observations of my own." Tsunade stated. "For one, the bracelet only affects humans. Otherwise, you would've never been able to get it off the Daimyo's wife's cat."

"Yeah." Naruto snorted. "Wouldn't want male animals to start molesting me. The human animals already give me enough of a problem."

Tsunade suppressed a smile. "And another thing. The bracelet doesn't invoke feeling of love."

"What makes you say that, Shishou?" Sakura questioned, lifting her gaze from the stack of papers she was filing.

"This is not love. This shameless molesting and touching, not to mention the pick-up lines. If a person truly loves someone, they wouldn't be pushing Naruto so far to fulfill _their _desires. Love is putting your precious someone before yourself. You care more about their happines than yours, and I speak from experience."

"So, then, if it isn't love...What the hell is it?"Naruto asked.

"Lust. You're admirers are acting like male dogs around a bitch in heat. It is like you are giving off some kind of pheromones that attracts every guy to you like bees to honey."

"But he's a guy, Shishou. He doesn't have pheromones." Sakura intoned.

"True, but the bracelet might."

A thoughtful silence fell upon the trio as they let the information sink into their brains. Each were occupied with their own musings, letting minutes tick slowly by. Finally, Tsunade stretched up her arms and yawned. Rolling her shoulders and sitting back, she gazed at Sakura and Naruto.

"Sakura." She barked, causing the girl to snap into attention. "Find Hinata and Ino for me. Tell them, i have a mission assigned for them. And you, come to think about it."

Sakura nodded, bowing hastily before fleeing the room. She sent Naruto a sympathetic look on her way out, causing nervousness to creep into his stomach. He shifted from one foot to the other as Tsunade's piercing stare switched to him.

"What's up, baa-chan?" He asked.

"Seeing as that you probably won't agree to a house arrest for the sake of your own safety, I'm sending you on a mission. A B-rank one."

Naruto lit up like a Christmas Tree, beaming happily. "Really?"

"You're not any safer in here than out there. Actually, you're probably in more danger here."

"Aren't you worried about any more Kumo assasins? What if the curse gets worse along the way?"

"Do you not want me to send you on this mission?" Tsunade inquired, lifting one elegantly arched eyebrow.

"No, no!" Naruto back-pedalled. "I'm just wondering why you are risking it, is all."

"I'm not risking anything. I'm sending you with one of the best medics around, a Yamanaka to check in with your phantom, and a Hyuuga to check your body should anything worse happen. Plus they are quite capable fighters. That and, Kumo would never expect us to let you out of our sight anyways."

Naruto nodded sagely. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

" I am right, you brat!"

"But where are you sending us? What's the mission?"

"Oh nothing too complicated. You and your team is to simply deliver a scroll to Suna."

* * *

**A/N: There, the fruits of my labor. Y'all better not be complaining, you here? This took a long time to write. I probably crammed three chapters in here.**

**(1) I have nothing against incest, this is just Iruka's point of view.**

**A note for my beta: Did you disable your PM? Because I looked into your profile and I couldn't find the send message button. Also, due to some internal computer complications, my previous email has disappeared and now, I can't find you email address. I am so very sorry but I just couldn't find a way to contact you.**


	14. The Options

**A/N: I wanted to be nice and type up the new chapter because, well, I've already kept you waiting long enough. I need to speed up my work pace so here is the brand-spanking new chapter.**

* * *

Sai stared bleakly at the hall in front of him, his feet slowly dragging him across the carpeted floor. Just as Sakura ordered, here he was, reporting for the impromptu Team 7 meeting with the Hokage. Something about the bracelet or whatever. Honestly, Sai couldn't care less. In fact, he was disliking the prospect of seeing his team members again. Especially Naruto.

None of his proper conduct manuals guided him through the correct ways of dealing with a rejection. So, he was left utterly clueless and feeling unbearably alone. What's more, it felt like there was a hole in his chest, like someone tore out his heart. Which, he assured himself, is impossible for if his heart was gone, he should already be dead. But he sure felt like lying down on his bed and doing nothing for the rest of eternity. In any case, without the primary source of emotion, he didn't even have his _own_ feelings to guide him. He felt hollow, and numb. It was unlike before, when he was just a Root lackey. This time he _knew_ he was numb. It was like filling the world in color then bringing it back to black and white again.

Also, as if to add insult to injury, other than not knowing how to _act_ around Naruto, just the thought of _seeing _him was becoming more of a problem. It would hurt. It would be like the rejection all over again. To _see _him. That ridiculously dickless fool with the impossibly, blue eyes, sun-kissed hair, and silky, tan skin. That boisterious idiot with the voice that forces you to listen, the determination to acknowledge him, and the never-ending sincerity and acceptance. To _see _all that. Damnit, to _see_ all that and know it would never be_ his_. It would be utterly unbearable.

As much as he loathed this little get-together with what Danzou-sama assured was but a temporary team, he could not disobey a direct order. Perhaps if his jounin leaders' commands were against Danzou-sama's orders then yes, he would disobey. However, no one usurps the power of a Hokage, not even Danzou, despite what the foolish man thought. And, he knew from an early age, that when duty called. You answered. No questions asked.

But that didn't stop him from taking his sweet, sweet time getting to the meeting. Stop and smell the flowers, and all that. So Sai took the round-about way to the tower, cheerfully looking about like a tourist. His pace was slower than a snail's, and he even occasionally paused to adjust his ninjato strap or check his weapon's pouch or tie his laces. Despite the fact that his ninja sandals had none of those.

The meeting soon proved to be unavoidable, unless he would like to suffer the wrath of a deathly strong Hokage, he found himself wandering the floors of the Hokage tower. In all technicalities, he had arrived at the assigned destination. He was just taking a longer time getting to the room is all. He wasn't stalling either, just...What did Kakashi-taichou say? Lost on the road of life was it? Yeah, he'll go along with that.

Sai heaved a worn out sigh, rounding the corner as he fast approached the Hokage chamber. The massive oak doors, that led to the Hokage's office, was coming into view when Sai suddenly began to hear hushed voices. One of them sounded like Sakura and the other...Well, the other he wasn't all too sure of. He was certain they weren't from any member of the team. Which thankfully meant, he wasn't Naruto either.

"...I don't know but it sounds serious."

"Fear not, my precious flower! Naruto-kun burns with the fierce power of youth! He will be fine!"

Why wasn't he surprised that the two were talking about Naruto? Due to this whole fiasco with the bracelet and the curse, it was quickly becoming apparent just to what extent Naruto ingrained himself into their lives. He was the sun-incarnate and they were the planets that revolved around him. He was only one of the many victims that had gotten too close and inevitably got burned.

"Still I..." Sakura paused as Sai stepped into her peripheral vision. "Oh, good morning Sai."

"Good morning." Sai automatically replied.

Sakura smiled that smile Naruto had labeled the 'worried smile'. Sai idly noted that she was flashing it more often. "It is, isn't? Ah, but I'm being awfully rude. I know you and my boyfriend haven't been properly introduced. Sai, this is Lee. Lee, my teammate Sai."

"It truly is an honor to meet one of my beloved's teammates. I have heard much about you." Lee announced, inclining his head forward a bit.

"I've heard snippets about you as well. Not just from Sakura-san here, but from Naruto and Sasuke-san too." Sai replied with his own nod of acknowledgement.

That seemed to ease Sakura, her worried smile vanishing as she clapped her hands. "Well, seeing that you two are getting along. I trust that I can leave you guys alone while I go and get my team set up."

Lee began to respond but Sakura cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No time for chatter. Gotta run!"

Quick as a flash, her hands formed a handseal and she was gone in a barely indescernible 'poof'. In her wake, she left two boys, nearly strangers, standing awkwardly a mere three feet from each other. A tangible silence filled the air as Lee desperately tried to think up of an interesting topic of conversation. Sai, on the otherhand, was as cool as a cucumber. He wasn't even trying to start up small talk, his heart just wasn't in it.

Closing his eyes, Sai leaned against the wall opposite to the one beside Lee. His eyes drifted shut as he let out a low breath. The other boy merely watched him with observant eyes. A look of comprehension dawned on his face and compassion swept through his entire being. Finally, Lee broke the silence.

"It hurts doesn't it?"

Sai didn't even bother looking at him. His eyes were still firmly closed. "What does?"

"The rejection." Lee stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your mask is commendable but I am quite familiar with the aura of rejection."

Sai peered curiously at him now. It was surprising to see such perceptiveness from a man whose eyebrows were trying to swallow his eyes. "Oh?"

"Yes. Did you know when Sakura-chan finally agreed to go on a date with me, it was my 101th date proposal? I was rejected one hundred times."

"Impressive."

"You could at least pretend to listen."

"I am lis--!" But Lee interrupted him

"No! No you are not! I am not saying this for my own sake you know! I am doing this for you."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to." Lee locked eyes with Sai, his burning passion barely contained by his soulful, onyx orbs. "I know what it feels like. To be rejected. To not be good enough for the person you care for the most. It hurts. A lot."

Sai couldn't help but snort in disdain at this. "It used to, now...I can't...I can't feel anything anymore. It's all..."

"Broken?"

Sai glared at him with annoyance he didn't even know he had. "If you know so much, then perhaps you should tell me what to do?"

"I cannot."

Sai grunted, averting his gaze to the floor. Of course, kick a man while he's down.

"You have to figure that on you're own."

His head snapped up at that. "What do you mean?"

"From the way I see it, you've got options. First, you fall into a very unyouthful depression and wallow in your misery for an indefinite amount of time. I hope you realize that this has no purpose and is a very selfish act. Second, you can keep courting your love. This is a most youthful choice but take care to realize even the most determined warrior knows when to stop. Last but not least, if you truly care for this person, you will let go of him. And in whatever endeavor of love he is in, you will always be there for him."

"_Him_?"

"I may be strange, but I am not dumb."

"Obviously..."

For a moment, there was silence again. Sai heavily contemplating Lee's words. He struggled for a moment before asking, "If you were in my shoes, what would you do?"

Lee answered without hesitation. "Option three."

"What about two?"

Lee gave him an empty stare. "If you want to, by all means, perhaps you will prevail as I did. But I believe even you can see it."

At this, Sai slumped to the ground. He hugged his legs to his torso, laying his forehead to his knees. "I can. But I don't even know a thing about love. Would it end just like that? Would it stop if I choose not to pursue him any further? If that's the case, then what's the significance? It's all too fleeting, what's the point?" He paused, before murmuring breathily. "I...don't want to stop this, this feeling. I don't want to stop believing that he is precious. I-I don't want to stop 'loving' him."

"You do not have to." Lee replied. "Option three is not the only option."

"But you said-!"

"I gave you the option I believe would be most beneficial for you and Naruto, the path with the least amount of pain. If you choose to pursue him further, you might only serve to confuse him, or perhaps raise your hopes only to have it come crashing down. I'm not saying your love for Naruto stands no chance but there is no denying the fact that these are possible outcomes. As for option one, it is obvious. You will suffer needless hurt and Naruto will suffer the heavy burden of guilt for causing you that pain. And I'm sure nobody wants that."

Sai heaved a tired sigh, forcing a smile on his lips though his eyes grew watery. "Option three it is then."

Lee bent down to Sai's eye level, offering him a hand. "Nobody said loving someone was going to be easy, and this is a very difficult choice. Think about it."

Sai eyed the hand. "Why would you choose option three?"

"I love Sakura, with all of my heart and more. Her happiness is something I cherish and if I would not make her happy, then I will bow out. I believe that as long as she is happy, I am happy, even if I am not there to share it with her."

Sai closed his eyes, a few tears escaping and weaving a path down his pale cheeks. He gave a shuddering sob then returned to staring at the offered hand. "I-I would like that too..." He whispered, taking a hold of Lee's hand. "Naruto's smile is something that I really...I really care for."

Lee grinned, pulling him and the other boy into a standing position before letting go of Sai's hand. "That is the spirit. But I still hope you realize that you there is no rush. Choose whenever you feel ready. Just promise me this, if you could."

"What?"

"Do not ever choose option one."

"Alright." Sai grinned, a genuinely easy grin. He felt lighter somehow. He didn't really solve anything but, as eccentric as the man is, Lee was a good listener. He was good at giving advice too, come to think of it.

"No, no, no!" Lee shook his head in disapprovement. "Not like that! You must first pose like this!" He raised his left hand to eye level and formed a thumb's up sign with it while his right hand rested on his hip. He smiled as well, his teeth gleaming in the faint morning sunlight.

"But...Why?" Sai couldn't help but stare incredously at the pose.

"This pose was taught to me by my sensei, Maito Gai. It is called the good guy pose. It represents one's determination and strength of will."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Lee relaxed, bringing his hands to fall limply at his side. "It is because I want your word, Sai-san. I want your word that you will not, under any circumstance, fall into the darkness of depression. Nor will you, despite how painful it may become, sink into the depths of your misery. And I'm sorry, but I won't feel reassured otherwise until you do that pose."

Sai sighed, carding his hand through his hair. "Once is fine with you, am I correct?" At Lee's nod, he couldn't help but sigh again. Nonetheless, he copied Lee's pose, and he stated. "I promise that no matter what, I will keep on striving forward and never once will I falter."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You should declare something about your springtime of youth!"

Sai was about to retort but consented anyways. He rolled his eyes as he proclaimed, "Because the fire of youth burns within me!" And at Lee's expectant gaze, smiled the same twinkling smile.

"I'm never leaving you alone with Lee. Ever again." Sakura's voice muttered. She had arrived with her newly formed team in tow, just in time to hear Sai's announcement and smile. She slapped her palm to her wide forehead.

Ino and Hinata, standing behind her, were given the priviledge to witness as well. They were both giggling softly behind their cupped hands. At least Hinata was, Ino was outright laughing. Sai felt humiliated for the first time, his face rivaling a tomato.

Due to being so engrossed with his and Lee's conversation, he hadn't even noticed their approaching footfalls. Oh how Danzou-sama would've been disappointed had he seen this. Now what was that saying again? What he doesn't know won't hurt him? Yeah, that sounds about right.

"Oh my precious flower has come back to me!!" Lee shouted, running up to hug her.

Sakura stopped him, placing her hand on his face as he drew nearer than a foot. "I love you Lee, but I would very much appreciate it if you did not corrupt my friends."

Lee detached himself from Sakura's hand, his eyes burning. "I have not done anything! Sai-san was simply displaying his youthfulness! That is all! No corruption whatsoever!"

"If you say so..." Sakura replied doubtfully.

"I thought it was very cute!" Ino piped up from behind her best-friend, winking at Sai.

Sai blushed again, and Hinata took pity on the poor boy. "Um, e-everyone? Let's all stop now please. The Hokage must be very impatient."

"You're right Hinata-chan! We should start our mission instead of flirting with guys, unlike someone!" Sakura hissed, her eyes obviously on Ino.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ino replied innocently, flipping her hair as she walked to the double oak doors. "That was just friendly banter, and you should know by now Forehead-girl, that I am dating Chouji. But of course, you don't. You are so behind, as usual."

"INO-PIG!" Sakura yelled, following her as she entered the chamber.

Hinata smiled at her friends' antics and then turned to the two boys. She bowed slightly in greeting before following her teammates into the office. Watching the pale, Hyuuga girl disappear from his sight, Lee was suddenly reminded of another Hyuuga. Neji.

"I am quite sure my team has arrived and is duly waiting for me in the lobby." Lee proclaimed, his gaze shifting unto Sai. "I must leave now but I wish you luck with your decision."

Sai slowly nodded, waving good-bye to his...Friend? Yes, friend. His newfound friend. After all, Lee was the textbook definition of the word, and the hallway couldn't help but feel emptier without the eccentric man present. Letting a bitter smile grace his features, Sai found himself alone again.

As if to comfort him, the warm sunlight gently caressed the boy's face, bringing Sai's attention to a nearby window. He approached it, drawn by the beauty laid out before him. Konoha, beautiful, precious Konoha. The sun was high in the sky now, and everyone was awake. Market Street was already alive with the calls and shouts of the merchants. From his position in the top floor of the Hokage tower, Sai had the priviledge of seeing the shinobis and civilians alike go about their daily business. It was as if they had not a care in the world.

But this was a shinobi village, it would be stupid to disillusionize himself with the thought that everyone was happy here. He was a prime counter-example of that statement. Ironically enough, his problem was that he cared too much. Far too much. Even if it was only about one person.

His gaze drifted upwards, his eyes narrowing to squint at the sun. Lee's words, their entire conversation came back to him. What would it be like, he wondered, without Naruto in his thoughts? What would it be like not feeling this feeling anymore? What would it be like without Naruto being at the center of his world? To not be the first thing that came to mind when he woke up? Sai closed his eyes. It would probably be like a sky without the sun. It would be dark. It would be cold. It would be sad.

And yet...

A strange chakra signature wormed its way to his senses. It was soon accompanied by slow, forceful footsteps. With that icy, slightly menacing aura, it could only be one person. Sai opened his eyes, his stare meeting with Sasuke's disdainful glare.

That's right. Naruto's smile. He loved Naruto's smile. It was one of the reasons he fell in love with the idiot. Whenever the blond flashed it at him, and not one of those cheeky grins or foxy smirks, but a genuinely happy smile, Sai felt as though he would melt. It gave him such a warm and fluttery feeling, almost as if he was floating on a cloud. Though how he could've known what being on a cloud was like eluded him, the fact that he _felt_ something was quite a miracle on its own.

Sai hummed thought. Yes, Naruto's smile was truly special, and more than anything, he would love to preserve that smile. He wanted Naruto to keep on smiling happily. After all, there's no one else in this world, at least in Sai's thoughts, who deserves to be happy more than Naruto. And the key to his happiness was standing right in front of him.

Sasuke.

Lee was right, he wasn't blind. He could very well see it. So, why couldn't Sasuke?

A slam. The Hokage's doors were thrown wide open. The girls came out with Naruto leading their little troupe. The blond was shouting rather excitedly about his newly given mission. He couldn't wait to escape from all his troubles here in Konoha. Not that he was being a coward or anything but he honestly felt the need to cool off a bit.

"Ne, ne Sakura-chan? Do you think Gaara will--!" He paused in mid-sentence, his eyes falling upon the two sources of his problems. Just as he thought he tasted freedom, his troubles smack him right in the face. Ooh, so close.

There was an awkward silence. Sai stared at Naruto, Naruto stared at Sasuke, and Sasuke went on ignoring everyone else. A few moments and still no one spoke up. Actually, Sai was having difficulty breathing. It hurt much worse than he thought to see Naruto. Especially Naruto looking at Sasuke with those...those _eyes._

_"To not be good enough for the person you care for the most. It hurts. A lot."_

Lee's words drifted back to him and he wound his hands into fists. Outwardly, he was smiling. The mask, the facade was just too easy of a survival tactic for him to commit. Inwardly, there was darkness. Pure darkness and agony. Lee lied. It didn't hurt. For it to hurt was such a serious understatement.

Sakura looked at him worriedly. Concern etched so blatantly upon her features she might as well have stamped the word on her forehead. Sai waved her off, taking a deep breath. Still, he had made a promise. He had given his word. And he wanted more than anything to keep Naruto happy, to keep exuding that warmth. He wouldn't be able to accomplish that if he showed signs of distress, of pain. He took in another lungful of air. Never falter.

"Good morning, Naruto." Sai greeted, a little louder than he wished.

Naruto flinched. He was sort of hoping Sai wouldn't say anything. He was sort of hoping he could avoid the guilt. Ah, wishful thinking. Swallowing, the blond turned to Sai. "Hullo, Sai."

Sai stiffened, his heart skipping a beat. Then, he smiled genuinely. "I hope you aren't feeling guilty Naruto."

Naruto stared at him, blinking in surprise.

"I chose to confess. You had every right to accept or...or reject. But I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not okay."

Naruto grimaced. Was that suppose to make him feel better?

"No, no! What I mean is, right now, I'm not okay. I truly don't know if I ever will be but give me time. And it would be so helpful if you didn't kick yourself for what you did."

Naruto seemed to sag with relief. He returned Sai's smile with one of his own. Sai melted. It was all worth it.

Sasuke huffed in contempt. How sickening. This foolish display of emotion. It disgusted him to his core. Pathetic weaklings. He crossed his arms, his movement catching everyone's attention. For the briefest moment, coal orbs met with cerulean pools, and the blond jumped. His face completely aghast. In an almost instinctive act, Naruto reached out towards his best friend. His nature dictated him to help the other out.

_But what do you do..._

Sasuke made a sound, nothing short of territorial growl, and moved away from Naruto's hand. Naruto bit his lip and brought his hand back.

_When you are the problem?_

There was a tense silence which nobody broke, and it seemed to hang so heavily in the air even after Sakura ushered Naruto away. Ino and Hinata, who had known very little of what was going, remained quiet during the ordeal and had obediently trailed after Sakura as she left. That didn't stop Hinata, who still held a soft spot for the blond, to glare rather spitefully at Sasuke.

Sasuke was not intimidated. Despite never having seen the Hyuuga heiress look anything remotely angry, when you saw one death glare, you saw them all. He huffed again.

Sai had known it was not his place to interfere between the relationship of Sasuke and Naruto. Therefore, he had held his tongue at Sasuke's cold dismissal. Seeing the man so apathetic and so uncaring for affection he would gladly die for, however, gave him very little patience. Once the girls and Naruto were far away, Sai narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.

"If you give up on him...I'll kill you."

Sasuke gazed at him through the corner of his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You're rejecting him before he's even said anything. It was almost as if you're afr-!"

"Shut up! Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

"It's the-"

"No! No it isn't! Shut up!"

"The fact that you're denying me so vehemently means that-"

"I don't want to hear another word. Not another fucking word." Sasuke snarled, walking up to the office doors. "I refuse to be a weakling. I refuse to be broken! I refuse to feel such unnecesarry pain!! I refuse to be someone like you!" With that, Sasuke opened the office doors and slammed them shut.

Sai grit his teeth, tightening his fists. He stared at the closed doors, almost as if to bore holes into them. How could anyone be so foolish? So blind? Was it because of the Sharingan?

"I'm not like you, Uchiha." Sai ground out. "You have something I don't have."

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**A/N: I tried to type it up quickly. I know it is unBeta-d but bear with me. Anyways, okay...Nothing really happened huh? Just bear with me.**

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	15. The Uncertainty

**A/N: Ever heard of school? Yeah, it caught up with me. Ever heard of Nanowrimo? Yeah, that caught up with up with me too. *bows lowly* I hope you guys aren't mad at me! Sorry about that, see I wanted to post this chapter but then I realized, I made a few major mistakes, so I had to go fix it...Then I forgot to post it up again. I am sooooo sorry.**

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The heavy air did not dissipate as Naruto, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura exited the Hokage tower. In fact it seemed to increase as the light of day fell upon the brooding, blond's form. Exposing just to what depth Naruto had sunk himself into misery. The girls looked at each other, clueless at what to do. Usually, at times like these, it was _Naruto_ who broke the tension, usually with some kind of idiotic remark. Then Sakura would have to punch him and they would all break out in laughter. It was almost routine really, the way Naruto seemed to ease people of their problems. But when _he _is the one with the problem, it was like clearing a cloudy sky. How do you do it?

Sakura, nonetheless, took the initiative and placed her hands on her hips. She breathed in deeply before dictating orders. "Alright, team! Tsunade-shishou has placed me as this platoon's leader! So, first thing's first! Do you all have the supplies necessary to make a trip to Suna and back?"

"Of course forehead girl." Ino replied, jabbing her thumb backwards to indicate the bloated backpack on her shoulders. "I even brought myself some conditioner. The Suna winds are tough on a girl's locks but of course not _my _hair. You might need it though, but I highly doubt that dried up mop you call your hair could get any uglier."

"What was that Ino-pig?! Who asked for your opinion, huh?" Sakura snarled as she menacingly cracked her knuckles.

"Oh, so you wanna fight? Well, bring it on, forehead girl!" Ino retorted, raising her own fists.

"Um, ah, Ino-san! Sakura-san! W-Wait!" Hinata exclaimed, trying to step between the squabbling girls.

A low chuckle froze all three of the girls and they all turned to its source. It was none other than Naruto, a familiar blinding grin adorning his face. Sakura inwardly let out a sigh of relief though outwardly she was glaring at him lightly.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked.

Naruto could see what they were trying to do. They were trying to cheer him up. It was a valiant effort and he thought it was very sweet of them. Unfortunately, silly antics were of little help. But he still decided to humour them a little. After trying so hard, they deserved a reward. Even if it was fake. Besides...

He looked into those jade green eyes of his best friend, chuckling a bit more. "It's nothing Sakura-chan."

He wasn't one to burden those he cared about.

"Hmph, you're a weird one Naruto. Now, let's stop beating around the bush. We got a mission!" Sakura stated as she pumped her fist in the air.

"Ah, wait, wait Sakura-chan! I only got a couple of weapons on me! Can we make one stop over at my house?" Naruto sheepishly pleaded, rubbing the nape of his neck.

That earned him a fist to his skull as Sakura proceeded to choke the life out of him. "Naruto, you idiot! Why didn't you just say so earlier?! And on that note, didn't Kakashi already warn you about being prepared?!!"

"But, um, Sakura-san. I think-I think, on his defense, he didn't know there was going to be a-a mission." Hinata broke in, ever the peacekeeper of the group.

Sakura scowled easing her death grip on the blond. "I suppose...Then, I guess that's my fault. I didn't tell him when I picked him up." She looked down at her victim, releasing him. "Sorry, Naruto."

No longer held up by his teammate, Naruto fell and landed comically on his face. It wasn't that much of fall, and he had suffered worse, but he was betting he had broken his nose at least. Pushing himself up from his awkward position, he covered his bloody nose. A grin nonetheless adorning his face as his other hand gave Sakura a thumbs-up. "Nob Bhobems, Shakuba-chab."

"Oh, geeze!" Sakura fussed, her left palm already growing as she approached Naruto. "Just what we need! You getting hurt before the mission! Great, perfect actually!"

Naruto shook his head as his free hand tried to wave the girl away. "It'b albighb! Duh Box shoulb be bealing me!" To prove his point, he tried to move the hand covering his nose only to have more blood spurt forth. He stared cross-eyed at his nose, blinking confusedly. "Thab's beird..."

Sakura looked at his nose as well. A sense of fear creeping into her gut. Trying to be as discreet as possible, she gave Hinata a signal. When the girl got the message, she turned to Naruto pretending to lose her patience. "Really, you idiot! Just let me heal it!"

She pushed away his hand and placed her glowing palm a top the injury. She inspected the wound and sure enough, it didn't look any better. That was odd, Kyuubi should've healed it even if partially. But from her point of view as a medic nin, the wound looked very fresh. Something was wrong.

Hinata, after receiving the order from Sakura, had activated her bloodline limit. She did it subtly as well so as not to alert Naruto that there was a cause for concern. If there was one thing she learned after watching Naruto from afar, it was that he was incredibly independent. To the point that it was a fault. The moment he worries his friends, he shies away from them and refuses to accept any help. He was also quite stubborn like that.

She shook her head slightly, both to rid herself of such frivolous thoughts and to communicate to Sakura that there wasn't a trace of Kyuubi in sight. In fact, had she not known any better, she would've never thought that the blond was a jinchuuriki. That was bad. The seal upon Naruto required the constant input of Kyuubi's chakra to be converted into his chakra. The fact that there was no sign of the malevolent power only meant that something was interferring with the seal. And she had a good idea what it was.

Sakura forced a grin on her face despite what Hinata had silently told her. She clapped her hands and cleared her throat. "Alright, all better. Now c'mon, we better get moving!"

"I thought we would never leave!" Ino huffed angrily, adjusting her pack and leaping into the air. "Could you heal any slower?"

"As if you could do any better?" Sakura cried, leaping after her.

"As a matter of fact, I can!" Ino yelled back.

The two bickered back and forth, their shouts quickly fading as they got further and further away. Hinata and Naruto shared a glance, both smiling briefly before following suit.

"W-Wait Ino-san! Sakura-san!" Hinata pleaded as she tried to catch up with them.

"Yeah, guys! Have a little patience!" Naruto shouted. "And-And remember! We still have to pass by my apartment!"

It turned out that Sakura and Ino truly had forgotten to stop by Naruto's place and ended up going right by it. Hinata had to call them back which led to playful teasing on Naruto's part. The two slightly embarassed girls punched him lightly on the head because of it with more irate orders courtesy of Sakura.

"Just hurry up and open the door, you idiot!" She snapped, crossing her arms angrily.

"Geez, women are so touchy." Naruto muttered under his breath as he took out his key from under the welcome mat.

Ino, he had forgotten to take into account, was quite near him and had therefore heard his little comment. She shot him a piercing glare that would have killed him twice over. "I'm sorry? What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Naruto hastily replied, opening his door. "Anyways! Welcome to my humble abode! I'll be quick so just make yourselves at home!"

The girls peered into Naruto's homey apartment. It wasn't so bad, not what they had expected from a seventeen-year-old guy living alone. Sure, there were a couple of empty ramen cups in the kitchen, a few tossed jackets here and there, and maybe a little more dirt than other houses but it wasn't _incredibly_ dirty.

"Hey, Naruto? Did you clean up last night? I haven't seen your apartment looking so neat in well, ever actually." Sakura called out to the retreating boy's back. She took off her shoes and sidestepped a couple of mysterious stains before plopping herself down on the couch.

The living room was just as plain as usual, Sakura observed. It had a modest amount of furniture, and by modest she meant there was only three. One was an ancient TV barely held together by ducktape. It sat rather obstinately on some sort of metal stand. The stand looking as if it was attached to the TV so Sakura counted it all as one thing. And then, there was the bookcase next to the TV. It looked newly bought and sturdy unlike the other furniture. Made from polished mahogany wood, it was stocked with scrolls of jutsu, a couple of picture frames, and a few issues of Icha Icha Paradise. But she let it go, it was after all one of the few momentos Naruto had from his godfather. Finally, there was the couch she sat on. It had a worn-out seat that smelled faintly of mothballs, flat pillows with a fading, flowery print, and a frame so rickety, she knew that of Chouji sat on it, the poor thing would undoubtedly collapse.

"Not much of an interior designer is he?" Ino's voice broke through her musings.

Sakura glanced up at her and saw the blonde kunoichi standing purposefully beside the TV. Hands on her hips as her narrowed, orchid eyes pinpointed everything possibly wrong with the room. It was such a normal thing for Ino to do, criticize first, ask questions later, that Sakura couldn't help the smile that graced her lips.

"Yeah, I keep telling him to redecorate but he doesn't listen. He never listens." She replied, leaning back into a more comfortable position.

Ino eyed her in a way Sakura knew she would. A highly adept mind-controller, Ino knew enough information on the human pysche to make Ibiki proud. Nothing could escape this Yamanaka. Not A-Rank criminals, not S-Rank criminals. Really, what chance did her best friend stand?

"Okay, forehead-girl, spill it! What's up between Naruto and Sasuke-kun? And what was that with you asking Hinata to scan Naruto for? Don't think for a second that I didn't notice that!" Ino interrogated. It was only a matter of time.

"Ino-san, this is probably a touchy subject for Sakura-san. I don't think it would be a good idea to pry." Hinata intervened. Having just taken off her shoes, she came from behind Ino and placed a gentle but restraining hand on Ino's shoulder. Sakura mentally thanked whomever was listening for the Hyuuga girl.

"Yeah but I mean. You're not blind, I'm not blind. And we're both obviously not deaf or dumb here. You and I both know that our mission has ties with whatever the hell is going on with Naruto! I think we deserve _some_ information, isn't that right, forhead-girl?" Ino retaliated, her eyes thinning into dangerous slits. She shook of Hinata's grasp and marched right over to Sakura. "Well?"

Sakura sighed, when the girl had a point, she had a point. Peering up at her teammate's face, she slowly and hesitantly began to answer. "I don't know what is going on between Naruto and but I do know the reason for all of this. See, there's this bracelet..."

As the girls got enraptured in the cause for all the recent madness, they did not realize the subject of their conversation was listening in. Naruto chuckled bitterly as he clicked his weapon's pouch shut. It would seem that the girls had forgotten how good his ears were and that he was still within the vicinity. Ah, but it wasn't as if he was hearing something he didn't know. The information was rather redundant and since Sakura gave them a watered down version of the story, he knew much more. Far more than Sakura too.

He allowed the girls to be finished with their briefing, sitting down upon his bed to wait it out. In all honesty, he didn't feel like going on a mission. He needed it though, after all, he wanted to go to the Jounin exams. He couldn't let that Sasuke-bastard one up him of course. He let out another hoarse laugh. That was where Sakura got her facts wrong. There was nothing, _nothing_ going on between him and the Uchiha. Nothing.

The moment his and Sasuke's eyes locked in the hallway, he knew Sasuke no longer wished to be associated with him, for reasons he didn't understand. He knew because of the feelings swimming right below the surface of those sinfully black eyes. The all-consuming loathing, the cool detachment, but more importantly, the outright ignorance of his existence. It was the angry villagers all over again. And he was frustrated by it. That bastard was acting as if everything they had done together was nothing. As if all the years they had laughed, cried, and bled together did not exist. It was like Orochimaruall over again except ten times worse because he had absolutely no idea what the hell was going in that teme's head!

For revenge? But he hadn't done anything, as far back as he can remember. Well, except drag his sorry ass back to Konoha, but he had finished his dirty dealings. He had no qualms about going back home, right? For power then? His life goal satisfied, he wouldn't need it. Except maybe simply for the sake of getting strong. But why would that cause Sasuke to look at him like that? Why?

The only clues to answer that statement, from what he could see, was a few images of a broken-hearted Sai, a garbled picture of him smiling, and this weird unnamed emotion that flitted by so fast, Naruto had not been able to catch it. Not a lot of help really but what could he do. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be using this, whatever it was. Looking into people' eyes and seeing their thoughts was creepy, an invasion of privacy, and definitely an ability he didn't have before. Which only meant that it was from the bracelet making it all the more dangerous to use.

"Naruto! Are you done yet? In case you have forgotten, we have a mission!" Sakura called out to him.

That was his cue. Time to get going. Standing up, Naruto threw one glance at his room. His eyes falling upon the picture of him and the rest of Team 7, back in the day. If there was one thing for sure, Naruto just wanted for things to go back the way it normally does. So why did he have his feeling in his gut that "normality", for things to be the same between him and Sasuke again, just wasn't good enough?

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**A/N: Okay, so I know nothing happened. And I'm sorry nothing happened. But next chapter I promise, will have a lot of action. Next chapter is the mission to Suna and back. Ehehehe... Sorry.**


	16. The Sticky Situation

**A/N: Fast, super fast update for your reading pleasure. To make up for the sorry chapter last time.**

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It would seem that the newly formed Team Sakura had forgotten one vital fact on their way to Naruto's home. And that was...The bracelet. In their forgetfulness, they made the most unfortunate decision in taking the main roads instead of the side ones. Thus, enabling for half the men in Konoha to see Naruto within their viewing range. The curse only entails even the slightest glimpse of the bearer for it to work and as a result, when Sakura opened Naruto'sfront door to leave, she met with a writhing, moaning mass of hormonal men.

Men of all shapes and sizes were standing right on the blond's doorstep. And some were even on the rooftop of the next house over. She was also pretty sure, judging from the loud roar of shouted flirtatious comments, that there were a couple dozen admirers filling the street as well.

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but..." Ino muttered, walking up behind Sakura. "This is going to troublesome."

Sakuracouldn't help but agree as she stared at the pheromone charged crowed. She saw, witha large amount of distaste, that it wasn't only men of different shapes and size. The men in front of her ranged from a four-year-old boy who still thought girls had cooties to a wrinkled old man who shouted obscenities at whoever disturbed his lawn. She shuddered at the last one, she doubted he could even get "it" up anymore. Though the little boy was adorable, but only because he was standing there so awkwardly by the doorway with that huge blush on his face.

"Oh, oh my." Hinata gasped as she peered over Ino's shoulder.

"I know, it isn't a pretty sight." Sakura replied, combing her hand through her hair as she tried to figure a way to get Naruto out of here.

"N-No. That's not, I mean, I think that's my father over there." Hinata announced, her face turning an unhealthy shade of red. She looked as if she was about to faint too.

"No way! You're kidding!" Ino exclaimed as she leaned forward to get a better view. "Well, what do you know. There's the Hyuuga head himself. Who knew he could look so...horny. No offense, Hinata."

Sakura took a good look herself and sure enough spotted the old stiff on the other roof. He was waving his arms around, his haori partly opened to show off his gleaming white chest, and he seemed to...She squinted just to make sure. Yup, the guy was panting. Though for an old fogey, the guy was in pretty good shape. Wait, wait, wait. Hold it. She did not just think that about her friend's dad. No, no she did not.

Shuddering, she turned to Hinata. A crooked smile on her face as she brought her focus away from the nice six pack now being proudly displayed. Hiashi seemed intent to strip today.

"S-S-So...Um, th-that's right, h-huh? Y-Your dad's s-s-single?" Sakura managed to stutter out.

"Well, there-there were several eligible brides and-and he could've easily remarried, but-but...He denied them all." Hinata explained, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. "I-I should be the one apologizing. I-I hope you-you don't take o-offense."

"Of course we wouldn't Hinata! This all under the influence of the bracelet, it's no big deal." Sakura assured the girl.

"I wouldn't say that quite yet, forehead girl. He's activated his Byakugan. I think he's trying to see if Naruto's undressing!" Ino yelled.

"You serious?!" Sakura shrieked.

At this point, Hinata could take the humiliation no further and buried her face in her hands. "I-I wouldn't be s-surprised. I-I've found n-naked pictures of-of local women un-under his bed." She whispered softly.

The two girls turned to her, eyes wide with unhidden shock. They cried out in unison. "W-WHAT?!"

Hinata peered through the gaps of her fingers, her voice barely audible. "Th-They were h-hand d-d-drawn too."

Sakura and Inoshared a look. A single thought passing through both of their minds. _Ewww._

"So, what's the hold up guys? I thought we were going on a mission?" Naruto called out, coming out of his bedroom and strolling casually towards his teammates.

The boy couldn't have come at a worser time. The girls simply couldn't let him be seen by the men outside, the catastrophe that could erupt if that was to happen was simply unthinkable. It would be the mob fight all over again. Except worse. Much worse.

To prevent such a debacle, Sakura and Inoimpulsively tackled the blond to the floor, hoping with all of their hearts that he was yet to be seen. Hinata quickly followed common sense and shut the door. Being the only one standing, she hurriedly pulled the curtains closed on the living room's sole window as well.

"Good thinking, Hinata!" Ino cheered from her position on the ground.

"Oh, god. Don't tell me. The bracelet is now working on the girls too?!"Narutomoaned from beneath the two girls. "Look ladies, I appreciate the offer but-!"

His words were cut short as Sakura delivered a solid blow to his skull. "You idiot, there's a huge, I mean huge group of guys standing outside your apartment! Do you want to be found out?!"

"Besides," Ino started, getting up. "We all know you're a cock man."

"E-Excuse me!" Naruto screeched.

"Quit fooling around, Naruto! C'mon, peel yourself from the floor will ya?" Sakura snapped, already on her feet herself.

"Um, uh...We-We better get going guys! Re-Remember, my father has the byakugan, he's-he's probably already s-s-seen you." Hinata warned.

And as if on cue, the deep baritone voice of one Hyuuga Hiashi filtered through the thin walls of Naruto's apartment. "Uzumaki Naruto! I know you are in there! Come on out and get yourself some Hyuuga goodness!"

Hinata knew she really shouldn't have done it but...She opened the curtains just a peak to see what her father was doing. She immediately regretted it. Out there on some stranger's rooftop, her father, _her _father was stripped to his underwear, that she had unfortunately noted was a thong, and was posing like some greek scultpure. None too arrogantly showing off his biceps and pecs.

"I'm really, really sorry." Hinata whimpered, suqeezing her eyes shut as she turned away from the window. "And, that is, if anybody would be so kind as to-as to gouge my eyes out, I -I would be much obliged."

"Later, Hinata! Right now, we have to get Naruto out of here!" Sakura murmured sa she rubbed the bridge of her nose. She knew that even as she was trying to conjure up a plan, Hiashi's words were being processed by the pheromone driven crowd. It would only be a matter of time before they were beating down at Naruto's door.

"How bout if Naruto creates a lot of shadow clones, creates a diversion, while we sneak out his bedroom window?" Ino suggested.

There was an ominous pounding at the fragile wood of the door and Sakura knew time was up. "Good enough! Do it, Naruto!"

Naruto, who was finally upright again, saluted and formed the familiar ram seal. Several Narutos popped to existence, crowding around the room until there was barely enough space to move. Sakura nodded in satisfaction and wadded through the copies, heading for Naruto's bedroom door. The other three quickly followed in suit, and as they stumbled into the blond's sleeping chamber, Sakura gave the Naruto clone closest to the entry way, the go ahead. Right as Sakura slammed the bedroom door shut, the clone opened the front door, and the shadow clone wave stormed through the stunned admirers.

Without giving a moment of reprieve, Sakura marched across to the window. She hopped on top of Naruto's bed and threw the shutters open only to be met by two pairs of grabby hands. The admirers were here too!

A low growl rumbled deep in Sakura'sthroat and she took hold of the hands, pulling their owners in withher super strength. She hauled the two admirers until they could no longer fit through the window. Stuck, withno way out, the duo looked up fearfully at the pink-haired woman with a vein throbbing dangerously on her forehead. But all their worries vanished when their eyes fell on Naruto.

"Do you have a sunburn baby or are you just this hot?" One of the admirers moaned.

"Got me? I'll do your body good." The other one purred.

All four rolled their eyes as Sakuracracked her knuckles threateningly. "It would seem you two boys are stuck." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Allow me to help with your dilemma."

Before they could protest, Sakura'sfists connected with their noses. The force of the punches pushed the two out and sent them flying. Sakura clapped her hands and huffed proudly. Turning to her team, she smiled that bright, cheery smile.

"Good lord, woman. You just reminded me why I'm on your good side." Naruto whispered.

Sakura merely shook her head, exasperated, and proceeded to climb out the window. "Let's go! Before the clones are destroyed!"

Not needing anymore of a motivation, the three took their turns slipping out. When all of them had safely escaped, they made their way down the filthy side streets of Konoha. The Main Street obviously no longer passable. They traveled quickly and silently, as if they were sneaking around in a foreign village and not their own. But with Naruto's curse, enemies could be found anywhere. Luckily, they only had a couple of mishaps. Both were taken care of shortly by Naruto, who needed a stress relief, and Hinata, who just hated perverts.

They decided to risk going out the Main Gate. The other option of hopping over the wall surrounding the village was simply far too dangerous. There were a lot of men doing patrol duty on the wall, enough said. Besides, Kotetsu and Izumocan be easily handled. True enough, with a quick Shitenshin no Jutsu, courtesy of Ino, she got the two gate gaurds occupied enough to not witness her team's exit.

Finally out of Konoha, Team Sakura thought they would no longer encounter problems. They were sadly dead wrong. Not even a few meters away and Naruto collapsed on the ground, violently twitching. The girls surrounded him in an instant. Hinata activated her Byakugan while Sakurascanned him with some ijutsu. They found absolutely nothing wrong other than what they had found out before. Naruto seemed to be in perfect health, so why...?

The blond shuddered one last time and then opened his cerulean eyes blearily. He muttered only one word. "Fanboys."

Immediately, the girls knew what had gone wrong. Due to the fact that the clones were being destroyed, their memories were slowly coming back to Naruto. They couldn't even begin to imagine all the horrific possibilities of how those copies got eliminated and sympathized with Naruto. The poor boy would have nightmares for weeks.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use shadow clones." Sakura muttered to herself.

"Well, I didn't see you coming up with anything Miss I-Was-The-Braniac-At-The-Academy." Ino defended, crossing her arms.

"But if-if the c-c-clones are being destroyed. W-We should r-really get going...Ne?" Hinata suggested as she hauled Naruto to his feet.

Sakura nodded and grabbed hold of Naruto's left arm, slinging it across her shoulders. Hinatadid the same with his other arm while he continued to mutter incoherently about "grabby hands" and "molesters" and "really dry lips". They didn't waste anytime, and even though the blond was a bit of a burden to carry, Team Sakura took off to the trees. They tried to put as much distance between them and Konoha, and they tried to do it fast too. Quite a feat considering they were still supporting Naruto.

In their rush, they didn't notice a pair of eyes peering from the nearby foliage. Colored a deep, cobalt blue, they had an eerie, solid gold ring around each pupil. The pupils, themselves, narrow, almost cat-like. The eyes watched, silently observing with a piercing gaze, as Team Sakura disappeared into the distance. Then, without a trace, they vanished.

* * *

Halfway down the road, Naruto shook himself from his self-induced stupor. He was unnaturally quiet and was extremely jumpy if ever anyone was in too close proximity of him. The girls kept their distance, shooting each other furtive looks as they tried to puzzle out what to do. After awhile though, he _seemed_back to his normal self again. Smiling and laughing, lightening in the mood in the only way he could. Seemed, being the key word. Every now and again, when he thought they weren't looking, Naruto had the most faraway expression Sakura had ever seen on his face. It was an unreadable, emotionless mask that was completely uncharacteristic of the blond. That worried her more than anything.

They traveled a good length since they literally had a running start, so they had unanimous decision to camp out early. Sakura began barking out commands and assigning which order they were all going to take turns standing gaurd. Naruto was up first since he had the most energy out of all of them, what with being unconcious for first part of the journey. That and Sakura could sneak a conversation with him while the other two were asleep.

The camp was set up in next to no time. A few squabbles between Sakura and Ino, with a few mishaps from Naruto, but otherwise everything had gone smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it could get. And before they knew it, all four of them sat around the campfire, laughing and telling stories as twilight set into the forest around them.

Their camp was really more of a place where they all just decided to sit down and relax. No tents or any shelter, because they needed to move quickly and picking up after themselves was just too much of a hassle. They were heavily counting on the fact that it wasn't the rainy season and that the weatherman was correct in his predictions, for once in his life, about it being a sunny week. And as much as they weren't ready per se, it was really more of a sacrifice of comfort in exchange for efficiency. Such was the life of a ninja.

Luckily for them, the location in which they decided to settle down for the evening, had a nice, soft bed of moss. It was cool to the touch and very comfortable to sit upon. True, they did have bedrolls but it didn't look as if they were needing them tonight. The camp was also ideal because it was right in the thickest part of Hi no Kuni's forests. They were safely surrounded on all sides by trees, trees, and oh look, more trees. The trees were uncommonly tall, growing to an incredible 200 meters, and had a thick trunk of five meters to match. Fondly nicknamed, the Gentle Gaurdians by Konoha shinobi, they now lived up to their name as stood watch over the weary travelers.

Night was quickly setting in and the forest quieted as its inhabitants settled down to sleep. Occasionally, there was the haunting hoot of a hunting owl but otherwise it was serene silence. Team Sakura followed the animals lead and doused out their fire. Only the watchful gaze of a crescent moon shining through the thick foliage as their light. A thin fog rolled in, blanketing the forest floor as Ino and Hinata leaned back unto the trees closest to them. They shifted every now and again before stilling into a light sleep. Their breaths evening out and Sakura took this oppurtunity to talk to Naruto.

The blond was sitting a few feet away from the remnants of the fire. His gaze faraway as he sat in a crouch. He was playing idly with a kunai in his hand, twirling it around, sometimes tossing it and catching it. To others, this looked to be a very casual posture, but Sakura knew that he was in deep thought. About what, though, she may have a vague idea.

A chilling breeze swept through the forest, stirring up the fog and caressing the trees, causing the leaves to whisper wordless words to each other. A thin ray of moonlight broke through the swaying branches and for one moment, perhaps a tenth of a second, Sakura could've sworn Naruto's eyes were gold not their usual cerulean blue. She shivered a bit, shaking her head and believing she was simply imagining things.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto stated so suddenly that she almost jumped. He didn't turn to look at her but simply kept staring at absolutely nothing. "Did-Did I do something wrong?"

"Whatever makes you think that, Naruto?" Sakura asked softly, creeping closer to him.

"He's angry at me..." Was his only reply.

"He probably just has a lot of things on his mind, and you caught him at the wrong time. I think-I think Sasuke-kun could never be angry at you." Sakura assured her friend.

Naruto turned to her, his blue eyes frightfully sad and looking years older than they should be. "You don't understand. He was looking at me like _them. _He_ hates _me, I'm sure of it."

"Well, then you're missing some-" She was cut off however as Naruto hurriedly placed a hand over her mouth. She looked at him questioningly but he ignored her.

His eyes shifted to the left and his whole posture stiffened. He leaned in closer to her, eyes now looking over her shoulder. "We've got company."

The moment the last word escaped his lips, the fog began to swirl at certain areas. Sakura broke away from Naruto's hand and watched in awe as the fog swirled higher and higher, forming an outline of a human. A genjutsu. Immediately, Sakura realized they had all unwittingly fallen into a trap.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan. We gotta move." Naruto whispered from behind her.

She nodded feeling incredibly foolish. It was almost as if she was a genin again, freezing up in the face of danger. She took a deep, calming breath and assesed the situation. She counted the new enemies. Five in total. That's good, she could take them on. They only had one more person than them after all. Standing up, she cracked her knuckles. "Let's do this."

"Wait, look up." Naruto advised her.

A feeling of dread took over her as she followed her teammate's words. Sure enough, on the branches of Konoha's so called Gentle Gaurdians, were five maybe six more. They were officially outnumbered and trapped. Could things get any worse?

"Don't do anything. I assure you, follow our orders and we'll make your deaths quick and painless." One of the the five spoke up. She had dark skin and black hair done in several braids that fell to her shoulders. A Cloud headband sat proudly on her forehead as coal-black eyes watched them threateningly.

"You're after the bracelet aren't you?" Sakura asked, tightening her gloves.

A smirk was all the woman needed to reply.

"Well, you're not going to get it!" Naruto roared, kage bunshin immediately at his side. A rasengan was immediately being formed. Typical Naruto tactic. Attack first, ask questions later.

"Ah, ah, ah! Before you think of doing anything..." The woman directed their attention to their bound and gagged friends. Ino and Hinata. The two were struggling but they weren't doing much of a progress. "Now, I will ask you one more time. The bracelet if you please."


	17. The Bloodline Limit

**A/N: ... I love you all. For all my fateful readers, I thank you!! I know the story has been a bit boring but thank you for sticking with me so far!**

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It had been quite awhile since Naruto's "inherited" ability last activated. If he thought about it hard enough, he would have to say the last time it activated was when he looked into Sasuke's eyes. But that wasn't a particularly pleasant memory and thus Naruto never really put much thought into his new kekkei genkai (if one could call it that).

As far as he was concerned, and he liked to think that it concerned him a lot, the doujutsu could rot in hell and he couldn't care any less. His only complaint would be that it didn't take the curse along with it. He was pretty damn sure, and may he be struck by lightning should he be wrong, that the bloodline limit was in someway related to the curse. He was also damn sure that the connection between these two wasn't a good thing, for him at least. For all he knew, the usage of this ability contributed to the depletion of his lifespan. And in case anybody was wondering, that definitely wasn't good.

Naruto could only take comfort in the fact that it had been some time since the kekkei genkai activated and he could only sincerely hope that it was gone for good. But life doesn't work that way. Not for him. If he hadn't been cut a single break in the measly seventeen years of his life, did he really expect to get one now?

The answer was a no. A big, fat, stinking no. To prove this point, Naruto took one glance at the head Kumo kunoichi's eyes and immediately was treated to a slideshow of the inner workings of her mind.

The first thing he came to notice were the color of her eyes. Coal-black eyes. Unlike Sai's inky-black orbs or Sasuke's smoldering ebony-pools, these eyes were not the eyes of an ally. They were ruthless and cut-throat. There wasn't a shred of heistancy, doubt, or mercy within them. And Naruto immediately knew, that his opponent, the Kumo kunoichi wouldn't flinch, or even blink, if she was to take out a kunai and stab him right now. He also guessed she wouldn't regret it if she ordered her comrades to slit Ino and Hinata's throats should he not comply with their demands. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he and Sakura were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But he wasn't about to give up. He didn't survive all seventeen years of his life by stopping when the going got tough. Now, if only he had a plan.

Tension continued to grow as the Kumo kunoichi continued to lose her patience. He swallowed, his gaze travelling from one enemy's face to another. He idly noted that an overwhelming majority were girls. These people came prepared, unlike them. Very much unlike them. Gritting his teeth, he ended his observation when his eyes fell once more upon the head kunoichi's face. He tried to discreetly reach for his weapon's pouch but the kunoichi was having none of that. She snapped her fingers and the ropes tightened painfully around Ino and Hinata, causing both girls to grimace.

A chilling breeze swept throughout the clearing, stirring up a carpet of dead leaves as the sickle-shaped moon peeked out from behind the clouds. It was almost as though the moon had taken interest in the events happening beneath it illuminating gaze and had decided to peer down from its seat in the sky. Then, as if a curtain was being drawn, a silver ray of moonlight, unguarded by the leafy branches, bathed the clearing. It reflected off Naruto's eyes that bled from its usual cerulean to a bestial yet angelic gold.

And all of a sudden, Naruto could see.

With his stare still fixed upon the head Kumo kunoichi's eyes, Naruto felt his entire body hum. All his senses were thrown into hypersensitivity that it seemed as if each second passed was an eternity. His entire being seemed to focus, whether he wanted it to or not, on those coal-black irises, and the next thing he knew... He was looking at himself.

An exact, carbon copy of himself. Every strand of hair, each whisker mark, and even down to the tiniest wrinkle of his clothes, copied. Perfectly. A little too perfectly. He decided it was very creepy. It was as if he was looking at a shadow clone of himself. While that in itself isn't very disconcerting, Naruto knew he had not made a clone of himself. As much as that particular jutsu was pretty much reflexive for him, he would still remember creating the handseals. That and had he made any offensive movement whatsoever, those Kumo ninja would be on him like an Akimichi on a buffet table.

That left only one possible that he'd rather not entertain. Hence, the creepiness. Someone had made a clone of him. Someone had replicated him down to the smallest and most insignificant detail. Someone had also been staring at him for far too long than he was comfortable with. How else could they have made such a perfect clone?

Expanding his range of vision, the blond was startled to realize it wasn't only him that was copied. Sakura and the forest behind them, not excluding their camp, were cloned as well. It was almost as if he was staring at a mirror image of himself...

But before he could continue this line of thought any farther, Naruto found himself overcome with foreign emotions. Emotions of happiness, arrogance, anxiety, stress, and most of all, the thrilling, sweet taste of victory. He immediately figured out from the last one that these feelings were definitely not his. He had two friends captured, he and Sakura were cornered... That didn't seem pretty victorious to him. The only way he could possibly be feeling victorious was if he was the enemy.

And it hit the jinchuuriki like one of Tsunade's punches. Somehow, in someway, he had inserted himself into the Kumo kunoichi's mind. The images he were seeing right now were a reflection because the kunoichi was standing right in front of him, on the opposite side. The feelings he was feeling right now was the kunoichi gloating over her supposed upper hand. It all made sense and Naruto knew just what to blame.

The bracelet and its curse. Of course. Figures.

As Naruto resigned himself to finding a way out of the kunoichi's psyche, there was a blinding, white flash. The next thing he knew, he was looking at an entirely different scene. Or perhaps he should call it a memory.

He knew this by taking in the new surroundings. First off, the forest was thinner, as far as he could tell. The trees were rushing past him too fast to really notice much. And the fact that the trees were rushing back indicated that the kunoichi was running, perhaps chasing something or someone. Naruto could pretty much guess who it was. Finally, the sun had barely risen from the horizon, making it very early dawn. Whatever he was seeing had taken place sometime ago, thus making it a memory.

Oh yeah, just call him Sherlock Holmes.

But Naruto was on a roll now, even Shikamaru would have to bow at his intelectual prowess. The blond also deduced that since they were pretty much not near the heart of Fire Country's forest, the Kumo ninjas must have just recently left their village. If the blond remembered his map right, by recently he meant bout two days ago. Right after him and Team Kakashi escaped with the Daimyo's wife's cat. He had to admit, Kumo acted fast. And if they were just entering Fire Country's forest, after only two days worth of travelling, the poor saps must have been travelling non-stop. Which meant these shinobi were tired, exhausted, dead on their feet. He decided to store that information for later.

"Oi! Omoi!" Naruto heard himself shout. Except it wasn't him. He felt his mouth move and his vocal cords vibrate, but it wasn't his voice. It was obviously feminine. It was the kunoichi's voice. Naruto was not only feeling emotional sensations but physical sensations as well. Now that he thought about, his thighs were sore and his lungs were burning. He felt dead exhausted. How could this woman shout so loud while being so terribly tired?!

"Omoi! Pick up the pace, you are lagging behind!" The kunoichi shouted and in the corner of her eye, Naruto saw a dark-skinned man with platinum, blond hair styled in a buzz cut. He had a sword (Naruto guessed it was a katana) strapped to his back and seemed to be chewing on some toothpick, heavily contemplating something.

"Sorry, I was just thinking what foot would give the most powerful speed-boost. I'm thinking it's the left one. Hey Karui, do you think if I channel a lot of chakra in my left foot, I'll go a lot faster?" the man, Omoi asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes, or at least he thought he did. Perhaps the kunoichi did it, the one Omoi called Karui? Oh he didn't know. He was going to have some major identity issues when he was done with this.

"How may times have I told you? You over think things to much Omoi! Just run faster! We have a lot of ground to make up before we catch up to those Leaf nins." Karui snapped, turning her gaze to the front.

"My, my. So loud." Someone beside him said. But before Karui could turn to look at the speaker, and before Naruto could find out who it was, the blinding flash returned.

This time Naruto was sort of ready for it and wasn't quite as pained by the searing light. He groaned, and he was pretty sure it was him this time. The moments between memories were the only times Naruto felt like himself again. Unfortunately, these moments proved to be brief, very much so, and soon Naruto found himself participating in a new memory.

The scenery was foggy. Not misty, but a thick roll of fog that blanketed everything, making it quite hard to see too far ahead of him. Behind them was a breath-taking back-drop consisting of the base of some tall mountain. They were so uncommonly large that from what he could see, their peaks were hidden by the clouds up above. Wait a minute, clouds?!

The blond back-tracked and looked again through Karui's eyes to see if what he saw was right. Sure enough, the clouds stared right back at him. Which meant only one thing. They were very near Kumogakure. In his mind's timeline, this should mean the memory had occured sometime yesterday, he guessed around evening. But since he couldn't see the sky very well, he was not too sure what time it was exactly.

A slight movement and the jinchuuriki found himself leaning back. Karui had apparently tried to make herself comfortable by leaning unto her lumpy backpack. She sat staring where she could see everybody and Naruto had the great oppurtunity of seeing all of his opponents faces. The team seemed to be having a break, all were just sitting and laughing. But Naruto had the sense that it wasn't just a break. They were waiting for something...

As he took in the team semi-casual atmosphere, he was startled to realize there were a fair share of boys in the team. But the team they were facing now had an overwhelming majority of girls... Where have all the boys gone on to? And how did Kumo know not to include so many men?

As if to answer his questions, there was a screech of a messenger bird. Karui looked up which meant Naruto looked up as well. They both saw a dark shape moving quickly across the sky before it descended sharply. Tearing through the clouds was a medium-sized hawk, its large, brown wings spread on either side of it. But that wasn't what caught Naruto's attention, it was the scroll hanging limply on one of its talons.

And the plot thickens.

Naruto felt himself move to stand up as Karui stretched out an arm to give the bird a place to land on. There was a another screech and the blond felt something heavy land on Karui's arm, as well as the sting of a couple of talons digging into her soft skin. He was assuming it was soft.

Feeding the bird a few slices of meat, Karui quickly untied the scroll before letting it take off. She didn't waste any time, hurriedly breaking the seal and unfurling its contents. Her eyes moved rapidly across the page and Naruto had to work to process all the information.

The scroll's message was coded of course, in a way that only a Kumo nin could possibly understand it. But the blond was startled to realize he could comprehend every single word. The contents said, clear as day, that Kumo's first agent had been apprehended. That would be the guy Naruto had beaten black and blue. It also warned Karui against bringing any male nin within a close proximity of the target. The target, Naruto could pretty much guess was him.

The message didn't end there, however, and the sheer amount of information they had boggled his mind. It stated that men may be able to participate in the mission as long as they were romantically involved in some relationship. It continued on further to say that the curse had a set radius around the current bearer, and that pain could temporarily shock a victim from the effects.

There were several minor details, everything that he and Tsunade went over this morning, listed as well. And the question now was, how?? How in the world did Kumo get a hold of that information? First of all, his meeting with Tsunade was held today, and if he was right and this memory was occuring yesterday, then they didn't get the information frim eavesdropping. So that meant that they must have learned everything through sheer observation. And the only way to observe things was to be there to witness it all. Someone in Konoha has been following everything related to him and the bracelet, and was leaking everything they knew to Kumo. In other words, a spy. There was a Kumo spy in Konoha!

"Alright!" Karui's voice cut through Naruto's musings. "All men, unfortunately must leave! The bracelet's effects have been confirmed and we cannot have you men as a liability. Those who are involved in a romantic relationship, however, can stay!"

Omoi raised his hand. "Define romantic."

Naruto felt himself become inconceivably angry and he began to wonder why Karui didn't outright strangle the poor man. "For the love of--Just stay, Omoi!" She yelled.

No sooner was her sentence finished when darkness began to creep into Naruto's vision. He panicked thinking that perhaps Karui had fainted. But she wasn't sick or anything, he would've felt that. So, why did it suddenly go dark? And what did that mean for him?

He got what he asked for soon enough, when, not a split second after his sight went, his hearing left as well. Along with his sense of touch, smell, and taste. It was rather frightening and disorienting. As a shinobi, he was highly dependant on all of his senses, and for him to suddenly be robbed of them... It wasn't very pleasant.

In what felt like an eternity of simply existing within that black void, Naruto finally received some relief when a gentle light pierced through the abyss. There was a sudden lurching feeling as if he was being tugged by the waist of his pants, and in the next moment, he found himself staring once more at the Kumo kunoichi.

He was back at the clearing, though he couldn't say that he really left anyway. Everything was as it was before, and Naruto could pretty much guess he probably wasn't even gone for more than a second. That's good, he didn't want Sakura-chan to be alone fending off Karui's team.

Wait. Karui?

The moment he acknowledged his knowledge of her name, the rest of his newly acquired information used this oppurtunity to make themselves known. And he was immediately bombarded by everything. What she saw, what she did, her memories, physical sensations, emotional sensations, every little detail he had painstakingly acquired. All came rushing back. It was as if a thousand of his shadow clones decided to disperse all at the same time. The flood of information inevitably caused a major migraine and he fell to his knees.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura shout. There was a thud of feet that seemed like the stampede of angry elephants to his throbbing head. Warm arms wrapped around him as the pink-haired medic shouted at Karui. Her yells, though with good intent, only made things worse for him. "What did you do to him, you bitch! I swear if you did anything, I'm going to make you regret it!"

Karui smirked. "Trust me, if I did anything I would gladly take credit for it. But unfortunately, this time I'm--!"

Before she could finish her sentence, a gray blur launched itself from its position in the trees. It attached itself to Naruto and knocked Sakura away from the blond. The moon, in a spurt of kindness, decided to widen its spotlight to reveal to all just who had decided to act like a leech. It was none other than Omoi.

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**A/N: I'm so sorry this took the longest time to make but see, see I had this anime con I wanted to go to but see, I wanted to make my own costume as well so, it took me all February and I couldn't update this because of it. I swear!!!**

**Hey, hey! Believe it or not, Omoi and Karui are not OCs! I'll show you a link in where they appear in the manga. Just check out my profile!**


	18. The Plan

**A/N: Okay, so I think this is a pretty fast update. I hope it is a pretty fast update.**

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"Ah, Uzumaki-san! You are quite pretty... But I wonder if I am being too forward in saying that." Omoi, a.k.a the one hugging-read strangling-Naruto, mumbled almost inaudibly to himself. "But it is true, he has such vibrant eyes. And his hair! It's so nice and soft, what a color too! I mean we have blonds in Kumo, lots of 'em, but they were never a golden shade like his... As a matter of fact I wonder if it's natural... Dyed? A wig, perhaps? Maybe he's actually bald!"

"Hey, who you calling bald, jackass!! How the hell did you get to that conclusion anyways?! And stop talking like I'm not here!" Naruto cried, pausing in his struggles to stare at his captor in disbelief.

In Karui's memory, he could make out Omoi's basic features: hair, skin tone, etc. But up close, like Naruto involuntarily was, he could better see his finer details. Like the fact that he had very smooth skin, for a ninja. Or that his face still held some baby fat, and that his eyelashes curled up at the tips. All in all, he was pretty handsome and Naruto couldn't blame Karui for dating him...

Wait. A. Minute. He did not just check out his opponent. No he did not!!

"Hold up! Omoi is affected?" A petite young woman, with extremely fair hair, exclaimed. She, like the rest of the Kumo team, had been shocked into a stupor by the apparent "betrayal" of one of their own. She, however, managed to regain her bearings faster, trying to assess the situation.

Wearing a black kimono that was cut off at the knees, the woman looked to be pretty frail. If, that is, she didn't have Tsunade-worthy sized boobs on her chest. She also had a ninja-to strapped to her white obi and the deadliest, non-kekei genkai eyes Naruto had ever seen. Narrow and slanted, there was bloodlust hidden behind her pale blue orbs. Informing Naruto that, no, he wasn't going to get mercy from her either. Well, shit.

"It would seem so." Karui replied through gritted teeth.

"But, isn't he dating you?" The woman inquired, blinking confusedly.

Another vein popped in Karui's forehead, her hand reaching for the handle of the sword strapped to her back. She growled. "Not anymore."

Sakura, who had been thrown to the side by the force of Omoi's tackle, rose to her feet again. She tightened her gloves, an expression of fury embedded in her features. "Let go of Naruto!"

"Oh, I see! Your hair is so silky, soft, and golden because it's not human hair! You're an angel aren't you?" Omoi muttered, ignoring the pink-haired kunoichi as he held the writhing Naruto closer.

"I said..." And before any of the Kumo ninjas could move, Sakura lost it. She rushed at Omoi and punched him square in the jaw. He was sent flying, crashing into a tree with a sickening thump. "Let go of Naruto!"

"Yeah! And give him another one for good measure!" Kamui cheered on from the sidelines, shaking her fist.

"Kamui, no matter how mad you are at your boy--I mean ex, you can't cheer on the enemy." The woman beside her reprimanded.

"Shut up, Samui! I didn't ask for your opinion!"

Sakura didn't send the arguing kunoichis a glance as she knelt beside her teammate. She helped him stand, gazing at him worriedly. Her medic sense told her nothing was wrong. His chakra was fine, though half of his reserves were gone. The oddest thing is, she didn't know where that other half disappeared to. When the Kumo ninjas ambushed them, he was all set and ready to go but now... And as far as she knew, he didn't do anything strenous, so... Thankfully, his vitals were fine, and he didn't seem to be hurt. That was good. Still, she couldn't help but ask.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Believe it!" Naruto replied, in a weak attempt to sound reassuring. "Don't waste your time over me, Sakura-chan. We got enemies to fight!"

With that the jinchuuriki turned his attention to the Kumo ninja. The Kumo ninja stared frostily back, their kunoichi leaders finally settling things out. It was then that a random thought floated into the blond's ramen-filled skull. He couldn't help but wonder how odd the Kumo chuunin vests were. Samui was the only exception since she wasn't wearing a uniform. The others, however, all fell for the same fashion faux pas. A white zip-up vest except it only had the left strap. The right strap was gone, creating a rather big hole for the majority of the right side. It gave the vest more of a "messenger bag" feeling than a big, bad armor for ninjas.

But even if their uniform wasn't very pretty, their own fashion sense still sucked. Kamui was wearing a tight fitting blouse with a long skirt that ended right below her kneecaps. All colored black though a couple of shades darker than her own skin. Omoi had a weird sweatshirt and jogging pants ensemble, also all black and the same shade as Karui's. Both were wearing the weird chuunin vest on top and both attires, in retrospect, were rather inappropriate for battle.

But he probably shouldn't be saying anything conisdering his own orange and black outfit. Maybe he should've gone on that shopping trip with Sasuke last week...

"Naruto? Naruto!"

Sakura's voice snapped him back to reality and he grinned sheepishly. "Oops, sorry. What was that?"

Sakura growled in frustration. "I'm happy you're back to you're old ADD self but we are in a bad situation here! Keep up!"

At this, Naruto remembered all he had learned in his little stint as Karui. He remembered half of the team was more or less sent back to Kumo because they were males. He also remembered that they were all dead tired from travelling non-stop in order to catch up to them. That could only mean, that for one thing, they were bluffing about the size of their platoon. Clones, in other words. A simple one too considering their chakra drain, _and_ since they had pretty much very little chakra, they were, in other words, easy pickings!

Naruto grinned. Oh yeah, and who says he wasn't a genius? He wasn't called Konoha's most suprising ninja for nothing! He promptly related all he had learned to Sakura, who looked at him weirdly.

"Are you sure, Naruto?" She asked. "I mean, how do you even know about that?"

He grinned. "Trust me, just... Trust me!"

Sakura swallowed. "Okay. I trust you. But can you stand?"

"I'll be fine! Now let's take on these jokers!"

Seperating himself from Sakura, he leapt high into the air. His teammate took this as her cue and promptly punched the ground with as much force as was necessary. The earth split open with a thunderous crunch, causing the Kumo shinobi to loose their balance. Some retreated to the air, where they were met by Naruto and his army of his clones. Since he was exhausted as well, his army wasn't as big as it could be, but it was certainly more than enough. The others, as Naruto predicted, disappeared in a muffled poof, revealing their true nature as simple clones. An illusion.

Karui and Samui, along with five other kunoichi managed to escape both their attacks. In their possesion, the tied up Hinata and Ino.

"Bastards! Have you forgotten our deal?! Make one wrong move and their lives are forfeit! Now you've done it!" Karui cried, whipping out a kunai and poising it over her head in preparation to stab Hinata through her throat.

"As if! Sakura, now!" Naruto cried, landing on the ground before launching himself forward.

Sakura leapt into the air herself, gaining some height as she used gravity to add more weight into her next punch. The effect was instatenous. A large fault robbed the Kumo kunoichis of their foothold and they immediately fell, loosing their grip on their bargaining cards. Naruto had been waiting for this, and in a burst of speed, he tackled his friends from midair all the way to the other side of the fault. The trio landed horribly, the blond tripping and rolling, taking the Ino and Hinata with him. But at the very least they were safe.

These combination of attacks between him and Sakura took all the years they had together to perform. Countless drills initiated by Kakashi, who had valued teamwork above all else. They all paid off in the end, and Naruto had never been so grateful to his silver-haired sensei. Once he was free from the enchantment, he would give the man a big hug!

Now was not the time to be reminiscing, however, and he quickly untied his two friends. Relieving them of their bonds and gags, they both gasped for breath.

"You two... Can you fight?" Naruto asked, worriedly. Shooting furtive looks at the enemy getting back on their feet.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. B-B-But those were ch-chakra draining ropes. I'm afraid--I'm afraid I have little chakra left." Hinata stuttered in between deep lungfuls of air. "S-S-Sorry."

Chakra draining ropes. Of course. As if the enemy was going to ambush them unprepared. It figures. If they lost their hostages, they still wouldn't be able to fight. Thus, cripling them. Very smart.

"How bout you, Ino?" He inquired, worriedly.

"Ah, I have less chakra than Hinata does. She still has a bit left, I'm about to die of chakra exhasution!" Ino groaned.

"I... see."

The soft sounds of footsteps drew Naruto to the fast approaching Sakura. Her worried gaze was answered by the bowing of his head, and she frowned.

"Injuries." She stated crisply."

"Ch-chakra exhaustion." Hinata replied.

"And maybe some rope burns. God, would it kill them to buy silk ropes? I mean, really? Hemp?" Ino complained.

Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smile. Ah, Ino. "Have some soldier pills, it'll keep you awake at the very least."

Reaching into her pouch, she offered the two a case of pills in which they greedily took. The pink-haired medic looked at them worriedly, trying to assess just how bad their state was. As she helped rejuvinate the two, Naruto was watching their enemies struggle to their feet. Tired or not, they were still half a platoon. And obviously, with very good leaders and all potentially grave threats. None could be below an experienced chuunin, if Naruto was to hazard a guess. Bad news.

They, on the other hand, were only two people. One half-exhausted chuunin and one medic. Ino and Hinata would not be able to fight, and thus they were outnumbered, overpowered, and handicapped.

"Uzumaki-san!" Cried Omoi.

Let's not forget his new rabid admirer. Let's just not.

"Guys, We have to run." Naruto announced through gritted teeth. His pride was incredibly hurt. He was Uzumaki, no, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Son of the Fourth Hokage, and soon-to-be Rokudaime-ttebayo! He did _not_ run!

But still...There was no other option. If it was only him fighting, he'd slug it out till the last one fell. Exhaustion, pain, meant little to him when the going got tough. But it wasn't only his life on the line here. He had his teammates to worry about, and he wasn't about to risk _their_ lives for something as idiotic as pride. They needed to buy time, just enough until the enemy all burned out. The question is, who would burn out first. The enemy or them. Sakura, while strong, did not have too high a stamina. Naruto, while a stamina freak, had lost half of his energy to the stupid bracelet. It was a gamble, the blond knew. But he must be good at poker for a reason!

"Alright." Sakura nodded. Seeing their enemies and coming to the same conclusion as Naruto. "I'll take Ino, Naruto take Hinata."

"Roger." With that, the jinchuuriki slung Hinata frightfully limp arm over his shoulder whilst Sakura did the same with Ino. The two shared a gaze, Naruto careful to avoid his teammate's eyes, before taking off into the foliage of the trees above.

"They're getting away! After them!" Samui cried from below. They both increased their pace.

"Uzumaki-san! Did I say something wrong? Oh no! I knew I shouldn't have put mayonnaise on my fries! That's it, isn't it? My breath smells like mayonnaise, doesn't it?" Omoi shouted worriedly, his voice nearer than all the rest.

Naruto increased his pace to a frightening degree.

"Wait up!" Sakura cried. "Idiot! We have to conserve our energy! Yours especially! Slow down!"

"Sorry." Naruto muttered in reply.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, clinging unto the blond for dear life. "Th-there's a little space beneath that tree. R-Right over there."

The timid Hyuuga pointed shakily towards a nearby tree. Her byakugan actived causing Naruto to look at her with concern.

"Don't try so hard, Hinata-chan. You're almost out of chakra." He chastised worriedly.

"B-But I'd rather n-not be a burden." Hinata replied, complying nonetheless and deactivating her doujutsu.

Naruto shook his head. "Hinata-chan, you are _never_ a burden. Good job though, and thank you." He flashed her one of his heart-warming smiles before turning to Sakura. "Hey, there's a place we can hide for awhile! C'mon!"

"Alright." Sakura replied, motioning for her teammate to lead the way.

The jinchuuriki sped up even more, his chakra reserves quickly depleting. He expected to soon feel the burn of Kyuubi's malevolent youki but was horrified to realize there was no such help. Even so, he pushed on stubbornly. He was almost there!

"Uzumaki-san!"

Diving into the hole between the roots, it was undeniably a tight fit. The space was barely able to accomodate four people. At the sound of the approaching footsteps, however, none of them complained.

"Guys! Hide your chakra!" Sakura ordered in a hushed whisper. The other three sent her a look and the pink-haired kunoichi smiled sheepishly. She ammended her statement. "Well, what's left of your chakra."

"We have just enough chakra to pass off as a disabled civillian, I don't think he's going to notice." Ino retorted, frustrated at her own weakness.

"Uzumaki-san!" Omoi called out once more, silencing the four.

His feet appeared in view of the entrance to their hideaway. They simultaneously held their breath. Tension was high in the nook they were packed into, to the point where they were almost choking on it. For the enemy's part, however, it wasn't quite the same. For Omoi, there was a clear confusion yet a heady clarity. A mixture of muddled thoughts that left him standing awkwardly in a clearing, staring into space.

Omoi had been knocked unconcious by Sakura's super-powered punch. He managed to jolt awake at the faint rumble of the earth splitting beneath his feet. The tremors from the newly created fault shaking him from his sleep. His attention was naturally drawn to the source of all the commotion, which was the battle. The battle, of course, had Naruto and his clones as the main component. And the moment Omoi's eyes landed on the blond...Poof! The enchantment previously broken by he enemy's punch, returned with a vengeance.

And thus, Omoi began chasing th sweet angel.

His thoughts had taken a rather interesting turn from a respectable and talented strategist, for he worried a lot for a reason (always thinking about possibilities and what ifs), to a bumbling, perverse fool who kept on wondering if Naruto's skin was as soft as it looked. In other words, his mind went A-Wall.

But now that Naruto was not in his immediate sight, the enchantment began to wane. He slowly started to regain control of his thoughts and all memory of being under the spell gently vanished. Though, he still had the most peculiar feeling in his gut. A trained shinobi worthy of his rank as a jonin, Omoi could clearly sense chakra. And there was definitely a strong chakra source nearby, somewhere very close, that pulled him towards it. A strange power that compelled him to move in a certain direction, lording over his limbs and bringing him to a... tree?

No, under it. Yes, under it. Beneath the roots.

As Omoi approached closer and closer to their position, Naruto and the others grew increasingly anxious. What to do? What to do?! Sakura, as the team captain, desperately tried to get her act together. She was a chuunin, an apprentice of the legendary Tsunade, and a member of Team 7! She would never forgive herself if she lost her cool here! Taking a deep breath, she combed through the facts.

One jounin. Two chuunin capable of fighting. Two chuunin out of commission. One target. Naruto. Technically they outnumbered him. If all went right, they should be able to overpower him. But what if they couldn't? What if Naruto's chakra ran out in the middle of battle? What if Omoi is just way out of their league? What if, what if, what if? There was just too many vairables not too mention there was still Ino and Hinata to think of.

"I know you're there. C'mon out, it's useless to hide." Omoi beckoned, rapping the tree trunk for good measure.

Sakura bit her lip. The others tensing. There was no more time. She needed to make a decision now. So she did. "Naruto." She began, clearing her throat. "Take Hinata and Ino. Suna isn't too far away, if my estimate is right. You could probably make it into their territory."

"What about you Sakura-chan?" He asked, already seeing where this was going and denying it all the same.

"I'm going to stay here and stall him!" She announced defiantly.

"No!" The other three chorused.

"Think about it guys! I'm the only one with a decent amount of chakra and-!"

Sakura was cut off when Naruto rudely interrupted. A scowl was on his face. "And! You are our only medic! What's the rule of being a medic nin?"

"A medical ninja should never be hit by the opponent's attacks. When you face an opponent's attack, evasion is the first priority." Ino immediately parroted as comprehension dawned on her face. She then sent a pointed look at Sakura. "This is because if the medical ninja were to die, who's there to treat the team members?" (1)

Sakura looked dumbfounded. She was silent and Naruto took this oppurtunity to jump in. "Sakura, we have two teammates in need of your skills. I can't let you fight him. I'll go."

"But-But that's illogical! I have more chakra, more strength-" She reasoned frantically.

Again she was cut off by Naruto. "You also have more responsibility. Listen, I'll distract him. _You _take Ino and Hinata. Like you said, Suna isn't too far, right? You _definitely _would make it there!"

"But-But-!"

"Guys, I'm going to get tired of waiting." Omoi proclaimed.

"Trust me, Sakura. Please. I'm asking as your friend to please trust me."

Sakura looked at Naruto's deep cerulean eyes and found herself succumbing. That determination, that stubborness. You just couldn't win. Although that didn't change the fact that this was a really stupid idea. As team captain, it was her job to go with what she felt was the smartest decision. And this was not it.

A soft hand touched her arm and she was jolted from her thoughts. She looked up at the hand's owner and found purple-white eyes staring back at her. Hinata smiled.

"Trust him, Sakura." She stated simply.

The pink-haired kunoichi groaned. They were double, no if she read Ino's expression right, they were all ganging up on her. That settled it. "Fine." She murmured. "But if you die, I'll kill you!"

"As if I'm gonna die before I become the Hokage!" Naruto smirked, moving towards the entrance. His face turned serious once more as he motioned to the others. "Okay, five sconds after I exit, you guys take your leave. Get as far away as possible. Right?"

"Right." The girls answered.

The blond sent them a reassuring smile before bursting out of the hole. Omoi was caught off gaurd. He never actually expected them to attack him outright and was thrown off his feet. He hid his face behind his arm, several wood chips whizzing past and tearing his sleeve.

"Oi, bastard." There was a cracking of knuckles as the dust cleared away to reveal a rather angry Naruto.

It was like a switch. One moment, Kumo shinobi ready for battle. The next--"Oh, sweet angel! My love burns for you with the passion of seven suns...Ah, that's _still_ to forward."

The blond's eyebrow twitched. "You want me, jackass? Come and get me!"

His challenge broadcasted, he took off. His legs pumping faster than he had ever thought possible. His chakra was getting burned out faster than he thought too. But, he figured, he'd deal with the chakra problem later. Right now, he had to get Omoi as far away from the girls as possible.

Vanishing deep into the denser parts of the forest, the blond ran with Omoi hot on his trail. No sooner had he done so, did Sakura and the others crawl out. The pink-haired kunoichi looked in the direction he fled to, her whispered prayer carried by the midnight breeze.

* * *

**A/N: And next time on The Bracelet, our favorite Suna nins make their appearance. And hey guess what? If all things go alright, this story should end in, four more chapters. give or take.**

(1) This is a honest-to-goodness quote from Chapter 270 pg. 09-10


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